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Availability of Sulfur in Sewage Sludge to Plants: A Comparative Study
Author(s) -
Elseewi Ahmed A.,
Page A. L.,
Bingham F. T.
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/jeq1978.00472425000700020012x
Subject(s) - sewage sludge , gypsum , chemistry , soil water , calcareous , agronomy , sulfur , trifolium repens , brassica , sulfate , sewage , zoology , environmental science , botany , biology , environmental engineering , paleontology , organic chemistry , soil science
Alfalfa ( Medicago saliva L.), white clover ( Trifolium repens L.), and turnip ( Brassica rapa L.) were grown on calcareous and acid soils low in available sulfur amended with sewage sludge and gypsum (CaSO 4 ·2H 2 O) at rates equivalent to 0 and 80 ppm S for alfalfa and 0, 25, 50, and 100 ppm S for white clover and turnip. The availability of S from the two sources was evaluated through measurements of yield, total‐S concentration in the plant tissue, S uptake expressed in mg/pot, S recovery, and SO 4 ‐S concentration in the soil. Addition of either sludge or gypsum corrected the S deficiency in the plants and significantly increased the dry matter yields. Improvements in yields were associated with increased S concentrations in the plant from deficiency levels (0.010 to 0.088%) to levels ≥ 0.2%. The average ratio of total S concentration in the sludge‐treated plants to that in the gypsum‐treated plants was 0.83, and the average S uptake and S recovery ratios were 1.09 and 0.95, respectively, indicating comparable availability of S in the two sources. Initial concentrations of NH 4 ‐OAc‐extractable SO 4 ‐S in the soil were increased twofold to sevenfold by application of sludge to the soil. The ratio of post‐harvest SO 4 ‐S in sludge‐ and gypsum‐treated soils ranged from 0.39 to 2.27 with a mean of 0.95. The results demonstrate that sewage sludge is a potential source of available S to plants.