Abstract
The projected population growth implies an increased food demand with a severe impact on Earth’s natural resources. Improving crops yield without compromising the environment will be one of the main challenges of the next decades. Among the practices that can promote sustainable agriculture, organic fertilizers, and seaweeds in particular, are receiving growing attention. The aim of the current study was to test two macroalgae (Chaetomorpha sp. and Cystoseira sp.), one microalga (Chlorella CH2) and Bioguano (a mixture of macroalgae, spirulina, and guano) as organic fertilizers for the growth of barley seedlings. Remarkable plant growth was obtained on Bioguano, with seedlings showing a comparable total biomass yield with respect to the positive control plants on mineral fertilizer. Plants growth on macroalgae was reduced, even if in Chaetomorpha sp. not significantly compared to the positive control. Plants growth on Chlorella CH2 was close to that of the negative control (only water). Plants on Bioguano attained high uptake efficiencies of N (60%) and K (41%). Plants on macroalgae showed high N, and especially P (about 30%) uptake efficiency. Our results suggest a high potential for Bioguano and, to a lesser extent, for macroalgae without any synthetic fertilizer application to be used as growing substrates for crops.
Highlights
Projected population growth will lead to an increase in the global food demand in the years (Calicioglu et al 2019)
Considering both FW and DW, differences among treatments appeared two weeks after the start of the experiment, with the biomass produced in the negative control and with Chlorella CH2 significantly lower compared to the positive control until the end of the trial
Shoots grown with Chlorella CH2 were reduced compared to the positive control at T3 and T4, whereas those grown with Cystoseira sp. only at T4
Summary
Projected population growth will lead to an increase in the global food demand in the years (Calicioglu et al 2019). Such increase, along with the climate change effects, will have a severe impact on the Earth’s natural resources (FAO 2017). Agriculture, among the main users of natural resources, is already responsible for about 25% of greenhouse gas emissions, the use of synthetic fertilizers being one of the main causes (FAO 2016, 2017). P2O5); (iv) organic NPK-fertilizers (with at least 15% N, P2O5, and K2O together); (v) organo-mineral NP- or NPKfertilizers, supplemented by mineral fertilizer or guano (NP with at least 5% each of N and P2O5, or NPK with at least 4% each of N, P2O5, and K2O) (FAO 2006). Different types of organic sources that are receiving growing attention are seaweeds (macroalgae), which have been used for centuries as a source of nutrients for plants and biostimulants (du Jardin 2015; Lötze and Hoffman 2016)
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