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Nitrogen accumulation of six groups of sorghum grown on a municipal biosolids use site
Author(s) -
Pedersen J. F.,
Moore K. J.,
Schroth Scott,
Walters D. T.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
water environment research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.356
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1554-7531
pISSN - 1061-4303
DOI - 10.2175/106143095x133329
Subject(s) - sorghum , biosolids , agronomy , sweet sorghum , environmental science , dry matter , biomass (ecology) , nitrate , soil water , forage , chemistry , environmental engineering , biology , organic chemistry , soil science
Groundwater contamination with nitrate (NO 3 − ) is a current problem in the U.S. Sources of contamination include disposal of municipal biosolids. Because sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench) is an efficient scavenger of nitrogen (N) from the soil, its production on soils that receive biosolids may reduce N accumulation in those soils. An experiment was conducted to determine the amount of N accumulated by six types of sorghum. Three hybrids each of six types of sorghum (tropical, forage, sudangrass, sorghum × sudangrass, grain, and sweet) were evaluated for N accumulation on a municipal biosolids disposal site. Tropical sorghum and sorghum × sudangrass had the highest dry matter production and accumulated the most N. Nitrogen accumulation was largely a function of dry matter yield. Biomass produced was only adequate for beef maintenance diets but may be a useful biomass source for ethanol production from celulose.