The Extended Effect of Top-Dressed Recovered Struvite Fertiliser on Residual Irish Grassland Soil Phosphorus Levels Compared to Commercial Phosphorus Fertiliser
Phosphorus (P) is an essential growth-limiting nutrient that cannot be synthetically produced. Mineral P fertilisers are typically applied to crops to sustain modern farming practice and food production. These fertilisers are generally derived from finite phosphate ore, for which there is much conce...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/1/8 |
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| author | Ciarán O’Donnell Denise Barnett Joe Harrington Niamh Power |
| author_facet | Ciarán O’Donnell Denise Barnett Joe Harrington Niamh Power |
| author_sort | Ciarán O’Donnell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Phosphorus (P) is an essential growth-limiting nutrient that cannot be synthetically produced. Mineral P fertilisers are typically applied to crops to sustain modern farming practice and food production. These fertilisers are generally derived from finite phosphate ore, for which there is much concern over long-term sustainability. To address these concerns, various technologies have been developed to recover P from municipal wastewater treatment plants. One product recovered from these processes is struvite, which is a precipitate formed of magnesium, ammonium, and phosphate. To analyse the fertilisation value of the recovered struvite, field trials were conducted on perennial ryegrass (<i>Lolium perenne</i>) over three growing seasons, analysing the dry matter yield of recovered struvite fertiliser. The trial was based on a three-crop silage system designed to mimic typical Irish agricultural practice. This research highlights that recovered struvite as a fertiliser provides additional benefits including increasing the soil P levels. The struvite test case produced a statistically significantly increased soil P level from the baseline of Morgan’s extractable P content of 6.4 mg/L to the optimum Morgan’s soil P level of 11.13 mg/L. The findings of this research provide insight into the added benefits of recovered struvite fertiliser as a sustainable renewable P fertiliser. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:08:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ce155c87dfd046548f2e30a84e7ac651 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:08:56Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-ce155c87dfd046548f2e30a84e7ac6512023-11-23T12:36:44ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952021-12-01121810.3390/agronomy12010008The Extended Effect of Top-Dressed Recovered Struvite Fertiliser on Residual Irish Grassland Soil Phosphorus Levels Compared to Commercial Phosphorus FertiliserCiarán O’Donnell0Denise Barnett1Joe Harrington2Niamh Power3Sustainable Infrastructure Research & Innovation Group, Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, Munster Technological University, T12 P928 Cork, IrelandSustainable Infrastructure Research & Innovation Group, Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, Munster Technological University, T12 P928 Cork, IrelandSustainable Infrastructure Research & Innovation Group, School of Building & Civil Engineering, Munster Technological University, T12 P928 Cork, IrelandSustainable Infrastructure Research & Innovation Group, Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, Munster Technological University, T12 P928 Cork, IrelandPhosphorus (P) is an essential growth-limiting nutrient that cannot be synthetically produced. Mineral P fertilisers are typically applied to crops to sustain modern farming practice and food production. These fertilisers are generally derived from finite phosphate ore, for which there is much concern over long-term sustainability. To address these concerns, various technologies have been developed to recover P from municipal wastewater treatment plants. One product recovered from these processes is struvite, which is a precipitate formed of magnesium, ammonium, and phosphate. To analyse the fertilisation value of the recovered struvite, field trials were conducted on perennial ryegrass (<i>Lolium perenne</i>) over three growing seasons, analysing the dry matter yield of recovered struvite fertiliser. The trial was based on a three-crop silage system designed to mimic typical Irish agricultural practice. This research highlights that recovered struvite as a fertiliser provides additional benefits including increasing the soil P levels. The struvite test case produced a statistically significantly increased soil P level from the baseline of Morgan’s extractable P content of 6.4 mg/L to the optimum Morgan’s soil P level of 11.13 mg/L. The findings of this research provide insight into the added benefits of recovered struvite fertiliser as a sustainable renewable P fertiliser.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/1/8struvitemagnesium ammonium phosphaterecycling fertilisersfield trialsgrasslandcrop yield |
| spellingShingle | Ciarán O’Donnell Denise Barnett Joe Harrington Niamh Power The Extended Effect of Top-Dressed Recovered Struvite Fertiliser on Residual Irish Grassland Soil Phosphorus Levels Compared to Commercial Phosphorus Fertiliser Agronomy struvite magnesium ammonium phosphate recycling fertilisers field trials grassland crop yield |
| title | The Extended Effect of Top-Dressed Recovered Struvite Fertiliser on Residual Irish Grassland Soil Phosphorus Levels Compared to Commercial Phosphorus Fertiliser |
| title_full | The Extended Effect of Top-Dressed Recovered Struvite Fertiliser on Residual Irish Grassland Soil Phosphorus Levels Compared to Commercial Phosphorus Fertiliser |
| title_fullStr | The Extended Effect of Top-Dressed Recovered Struvite Fertiliser on Residual Irish Grassland Soil Phosphorus Levels Compared to Commercial Phosphorus Fertiliser |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Extended Effect of Top-Dressed Recovered Struvite Fertiliser on Residual Irish Grassland Soil Phosphorus Levels Compared to Commercial Phosphorus Fertiliser |
| title_short | The Extended Effect of Top-Dressed Recovered Struvite Fertiliser on Residual Irish Grassland Soil Phosphorus Levels Compared to Commercial Phosphorus Fertiliser |
| title_sort | extended effect of top dressed recovered struvite fertiliser on residual irish grassland soil phosphorus levels compared to commercial phosphorus fertiliser |
| topic | struvite magnesium ammonium phosphate recycling fertilisers field trials grassland crop yield |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/1/8 |
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