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Assessment of the physicochemical characteristics of soil planted with elephant grass— Cenchrus purpureus (Schumach.) Morrone—following application of biosolid and chemical fertilization
Author(s) -
Neves Talles I.,
Abrahão Raphael,
Uyeda Claudio A.,
Souza Silva Cleiton,
Deus Alex S.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
environmental progress and sustainable energy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.495
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1944-7450
pISSN - 1944-7442
DOI - 10.1002/ep.13274
Subject(s) - biosolids , environmental science , agronomy , sewage sludge , nutrient , human fertilization , soil conditioner , phosphorus , sewage treatment , soil water , chemistry , environmental engineering , biology , ecology , soil science , organic chemistry
Biosolids are dehydrated sludge derived from effluent treatment plants. These biosolids may be used as agricultural fertilizers due to their characteristically high organic matter and nutrient contents. Thus, alternative uses for biosolids must be identified, and agriculture is one such potential alternative. The present study aimed to assess the soil physicochemical gains and losses resulting from the application of textile industrial biosolid and chemical fertilization recommended for elephant grass crops. To this end, physicochemical and biological soil analyses were carried out. A field experiment was conducted using a randomized block design with three blocks and the following treatments: without fertilization; with conventional fertilization; and with 1×, 2×, 4×, and 8× biosolid based on the Recommendation from the Brazilian National Council for the Environment. The results were analyzed using the Tukey test, which showed the viability of using biosolids. That is, the biosolids caused an increase even higher than that resulting from some fertilizing elements such as phosphorus, calcium, and sodium in treatments with chemical fertilization and without causing soil contamination, either with heavy metals, pathogenic microorganisms, or nitrogen. This provides an environmentally friendly way of disposing of this otherwise unusable waste.