Effects of Organic Fertilizers on the Quality, Yield, and Fatty Acids of Maize and Soybean in Southeast Kazakhstan

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The study provides results on the impact of organic fertilizers on maize and soybean yield, quality, and fatty acid composition in southeast Kazakhstan. It highlights key findings and methodologies used in the study.  However, the writing must be fundamentally improved. It is difficult to follow at its current form. I would suggest a graphical presentation of the large amount of data in the text rather than tables, which are not intuitive.

Specific comments:

L10: The first sentence of abstract should be improved. Provide a brief general introductory sentence at start of the abstract regarding Organic fertilizers effects on crops.

L12: rewrite the sentence

L13: What fertilizers? Improve the sentence.

L15: Value for Control sample data should be added.

The abstract need to be revised for more clarity and grammatical corrections.

L 29: However seems not well fit in the sentence please revise it or delete it.

L51: Fertilizers were widely…………This sentence should be modified.

L39: microflora and do not meet industrial……and should replace with which.

L434: check and rewrite this sentence

L440: Than control sample…..write value for control sample as written for other parameters.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

must be improved

Author Response

L10: The first sentence of abstract should be improved. Provide a brief general introductory sentence at start of the abstract regarding Organic fertilizers effects on crops.

Response:  Comment accepted and changed.

 

L12: rewrite the sentence

Response: The sentence improved.

 

L13: What fertilizers? Improve the sentence.

Response: Fertilizer type added to improve the sentence

 

L15: Value for Control sample data should be added.

Response:  In this context, the values of fat, protein, fiber, starch were higher than the control samples. In this way, the comparisons were showed in percentage.

 

L 29: However seems not well fit in the sentence please revise it or delete it.

Response: The sentence were revised.

 

L51: Fertilizers were widely…………This sentence should be modified.

Response: The sentence modified.

 

L39: microflora and do not meet industrial……and should replace with which.

Response: The sentence corrected.

 

L434: check and rewrite this sentence

Response: The sentence wrote differently.

 

L440: Than control sample…..write value for control sample as written for other parameters.

Response: Also, the control sample value were compared with other treatment values and showed in percentage.

 

We used MDPI English editing system to improve grammatical corrections.

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The abstract need corrections:

Cultivars is different to crops. The last phrase is a description of the experiment and should be a conclusion.

Material and Methods:

The soil chemical properties need a complete description of all the esential nutrients, Ca, Mg, Na, Al, S, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B, EC, and indicate the deepth od sample and the bulb density. I suggest include a Table with the description of the soil chemical properties.

 

Results:

The phrase "The results of this research suggested that the highest yield on soybean was Hanseplant".... The results doesn't suggest that the highest yield was.... The result indicate that.

Table 5.

I suggest incorporate the Agronomic efficiency of use of N and P, determinated as:

Kg of yield / kg of N applied

Kg of Yield / kg of P applied

This information will be very valuable for the readers and scientific and could delivery different results to the obtained on the yield.

 

Conclusion could be improved in relation to the main objetive of the experiment:

..."The interaction between the organic fertilizers resulted than maize and soybean roots absorbed more essential nutrients by plants contributes to the increase in the grain quality by translocating to the seed,...."  This was meassure in the experiment?, correspond to a result of this experiment?

 

 

 

 

 

Author Response

The abstract need corrections:

Cultivars is different to crops. The last phrase is a description of the experiment and should be a conclusion.

Response: Comment accepted and abstract improved. 

 

Material and Methods:

The soil chemical properties need a complete description of all the esential nutrients, Ca, Mg, Na, Al, S, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B, EC, and indicate the deepth od sample and the bulb density. I suggest include a Table with the description of the soil chemical properties.

Response:  The soil chemical characteristics described and added in Material and Methods section. Also, there were added sample deepth and buld density information. 

 

Results:

The phrase "The results of this research suggested that the highest yield on soybean was Hanseplant".... The results doesn't suggest that the highest yield was.... The result indicate that.

Response: The sentence changed.

 

Table 5.

I suggest incorporate the Agronomic efficiency of use of N and P, determinated as:

Kg of yield / kg of N applied

Kg of Yield / kg of P applied

This information will be very valuable for the readers and scientific and could delivery different results to the obtained on the yield.

Response: Agronomy efficiency of fertilizer calculated and showed in Table.

 

Conclusion could be improved in relation to the main objetive of the experiment:

..."The interaction between the organic fertilizers resulted than maize and soybean roots absorbed more essential nutrients by plants contributes to the increase in the grain quality by translocating to the seed,...."  This was meassure in the experiment?, correspond to a result of this experiment?

Response: Conclusion improved and changed to convey the main point.

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The review is contained in the attached document. 

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The manuscript is written in plain English, with clear descriptions of the data and results, but in need of some minor proofreading. 

Author Response

The methodology section should specify the varieties of maize and soybean to be sown. Please describe which varieties, breeding lines or perhaps which varieties are most widely grown in Kazakhstan. Because it is not clear, only maize and soybean are mentioned in general. We suggest that the description be inserted in lines 93-102 of the text. The conclusions should be supplemented by a description of which fertilizers have contributed to improved yield and quality, and by mentioning the main results of cluster analysis and chromatography. For example, what was obtained from the cluster analysis, as well as the chromatography method should be highlighted more. The abstract should be rewritten to briefly mention the location of the study, the year of the study and the main results of the findings. I think some of the text should be dropped (page 1, lines 17-18). Table 12 is not mentioned in the text (page 424 or 425). Citation of tables in the text should be checked.

Response: 

Abstract section changed and added location, year of the study. Also, there were dropped some information about fatty acid technique in Abstract. In Material and Method section added crop variety information, which we used in experimental plot. The conclusion section improved and described cluster, fatty acid determination analysis. Table 12 information were mentioned in the manuscript and checked and citations of tables.  

 

The manuscript is written in plain English, with clear descriptions of the data and results, but in need of some minor proofreading. 

Response: We used MDPI English editing system.

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Ｉhave no more concern with the paper.

Author Response

Thank you for your time and effort in reviewing our manuscript.

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Line 63, please dont indicate the method used for the analysis, which due be presented in Material and Methods.

Table 3, please present the P ank K concentration as element (dont use P2O5 and K2O).

Table 3, which is the meaning of the word SERA ?.

Line 267: HansePlant > Bioeco hum > Tumat > manure > Agroflorin > Biohumus. How could explain the differences obtained in yield with each treatment?. Dynamic of delivery of nutrients, quantity used, rate of delivery?

Conclusiones, please dont use the method statistical because is a tool that allow the evaluation of results, but isnot a conclusion. Please answerd to the objetive.

Author Response

Line 63, please dont indicate the method used for the analysis, which due be presented in Material and Methods.

Response: Comment accepted and the sentence was changed.

Table 3, please present the P ank K concentration as element (dont use P2O5 and K2O).

Response: Table 3 P2O5 and K2O were changed to P and K, respectively.

Table 3, which is the meaning of the word SERA ?.

Response: There was mistake and fixed. There should be sulfur (S).

Line 267: HansePlant > Bioeco hum > Tumat > manure > Agroflorin > Biohumus. How could explain the differences obtained in yield with each treatment?. Dynamic of delivery of nutrients, quantity used, rate of delivery?

Response: In our case, the optimal ratio of NPK of each fertilizer contributes differently to the growth of yield in the conditions of the south-east soils of Kazakhstan.

Conclusiones, please dont use the method statistical because is a tool that allow the evaluation of results, but isnot a conclusion. Please answerd to the objetive.

Response: Comment accepted and changed.