Phosphorus availability of sewage sludge-based fertilizers determined by the diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique

Vogel, Christian; Sekine, Ryo; Steckenmesser, Daniel; Lombi, Enzo; Steffens, Diedrich; Adam, Christian. 2017 Phosphorus availability of sewage sludge-based fertilizers determined by the diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 180 (5). 594-601. https://doi.org/10.1002/jpln.201600531

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Abstract/Summary

The plant-availability of phosphorus (P) in fertilizers and soil can strongly influence the yield of agricultural crops. However, there are no methods to efficiently and satisfactorily analyze the plant-availability of P in sewage sludge-based P fertilizers except by undertaking time-consuming and complex pot or field experiments. We employed the diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique to quantify the plant P availability of various types of P fertilizers with a novel focus on sewage sludge-based P fertilizers. Mixtures of fertilizer and soil were incubated for 3 weeks at 60% water holding capacity. DGT devices were deployed at the beginning of the incubation and again after 1, 2, and 3 weeks. Two weeks of incubation were sufficient for the formation of plant-available P in the fertilizer/soil mixtures. In a pot experiment, the DGT technique predicted maize (Zea mays L.) biomass yield and P uptake significantly more accurately than standard chemical extraction tests for P fertilizers (e.g. water, citric acid, and neutral ammonium citrate). Therefore, the DGT technique can be recommended as a reliable and robust method to screen the performance of different types of sewage sludge-based P fertilizers for maize cultivation minimizing the need for time-consuming and costly pot or field experiments.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1002/jpln.201600531
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Acreman
ISSN:	1436-8730
Additional Keywords:	phosphate recovery, plant growth experiments, chemical extraction tests, soil testing, P recycling
NORA Subject Terms:	Agriculture and Soil Science Chemistry
Date made live:	30 Aug 2017 13:27 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/517213

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