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Availability of Sulfur in Fly Ash to Plants
Author(s) -
Elseewi Ahmed A.,
Bingham F. T.,
Page A. L.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq1978.00472425000700010014x
Subject(s) - fly ash , cynodon dactylon , calcareous , agronomy , gypsum , trifolium repens , chemistry , medicago sativa , sulfur , brassica , botany , biology , organic chemistry , paleontology
Fly ash from a coal‐fired power plant was added to soil in variable amounts and the availability of sulfur to a variety of plant species from this source was compared to that of gypsum. The study was conducted under greenhouse conditions with a calcareous and two acid soils which were low in plant‐available sulfur. The fly ash used contained 0.4% S, all of which is extractable by NH 4 OAc. When mixed with a calcareous and an acid soil at rates of 1–2% by weight, the fly ash corrected a S deficiency in the soil and maximized the yield of alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L.) and bermudagrass ( Cynodon dactylon L.). The increase in yield (twofold to threefold in alfalfa and 40 to 70% in bermudagrass) was accompanied by an increase in the S content of the plant tops from a deficiency level (< 0.1%) to a sufficiency level (≥ 0.2%). The availability of fly ash‐S and gypsum (CaSO 4 ·2H 2 O)‐S was compared by the addition of equal amounts of S from the two sources (25‐, 50‐, and 100‐mg S/kg soil) to an acid soil. Yield and S content of turnip ( Brassica rapa L.) and white clover ( Trifolium repens L.) were equally improved, demonstrating that the availability of fly ash derived‐S is equivalent to that of gypsum‐S.