Replacing inorganic fertilizer with anaerobic digestate may maintain agricultural productivity at less environmental cost

We applied digestate generated from the anaerobic digestion of slurry, undigested slurry, or inorganic N (ammonium nitrate) or NPK compound fertilizer to pots of grass and a grass–clover mix grown in two soils. Crop yields were equal or enhanced with digestate, and analysis of soil water showed that...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of plant nutrition and soil science 2012-12, Vol.175 (6), p.840-845
Main Authors: Walsh, John J., Jones, Davey L., Edwards-Jones, Gareth, Williams, A. Prysor
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
agriculture
biogas
eutrophication
Fertilizers
livestock
organic farming
Productivity
Soils
water pollution
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Summary:We applied digestate generated from the anaerobic digestion of slurry, undigested slurry, or inorganic N (ammonium nitrate) or NPK compound fertilizer to pots of grass and a grass–clover mix grown in two soils. Crop yields were equal or enhanced with digestate, and analysis of soil water showed that there was less potential for loss of nutrients via leaching. Replacing inorganic fertilizer with digestate may therefore maintain grassland productivity but with less impact on the environment.
ISSN:1436-8730
1522-2624
DOI:10.1002/jpln.201200214