Application of soil remineralizer to poultry litter as an efficient and sustainable alternative for fertilizing maize crop

Abstract

Brazil is one of the largest grain producing countries in the world, and therefore also one of the largest importers of soluble fertilizers. In this light, it becomes necessary to study lower cost nutrient sources. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of the mixture of poultry litter and soil remineralizer, at different doses, as an alternative source of nutrients for fertilization of maize culture. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse following a 5x4 + 2 factorial arrangement with four replications. For each soil type (clayey and medium-textured) we evaluated five treatments (T1: pure soil remineralizer; T2: pure poultry litter; T3: poultry litter with 10% soil remineralizer; T4: poultry litter with 30% soil remineralizer; T5: poultry litter with 50% soil remineralizer), four doses of these mixtures (2.0; 4.0; 6.0, and 8.0 Mg ha−1) and an absolute control treatment. At the end of the experiment, we evaluated maize dry matter (DM), total chlorophyll content, N, P and K of the aerial part of the plant, as well as pH, P, K, Ca and Mg in each soil type. The evaluations conducted according to the variables analyzed showed that there is an improvement in the soil attributes and in the aerial part of the plants, especially when larger doses of soil remineralizer are used, and that there is a residual effect of the mixture of poultry litter and soil remineralizer applied to maize crop. Thus, the application of soil remineralizer to poultry litter may be an alternative for a high-quality, low-cost, and sustainable fertilization.