Abstract
The reutilization of agricultural wastes, as bio-fertilizers, is the key way to close the nutrient cycle and save mineral fertilizers. This hypothesis was verified in three consecutive seasons, treating tomato with three bio-fertilizers on the background of a standard rate of mineral fertilizer. The bio-fertilizers differed in their C:N ratio, which was 13:1, 21:1, and 6:1 for the A, B, and C fertilizers, respectively. They were applied at the rate of 200, 400, 800, and 1600 kg ha−1. The average fruit yield increased in the order: B < C < A. For the relevant fertilizer, the maximum commercial yield was 91, 87, and 101 t ha−1, for a respective rate of 1600, 200, and 400 kg ha−1. The number of fruits (CFN), as the dominant yield component, indirectly reflected the nitrogen (N) supply to plants. A shortage or excess of N on plots treated with the B or C fertilizers, resulted in a decreased CFN, leading to a yield decline. The year-to-year variability in the potassium (K) content reflected fairly well the variable weather conditions, responsible for water management by tomato. The conducted study showed that the tested bio-fertilizers can replace mineral fertilizer, as long as they are applied at well-defined rates.
Highlights
The European Bio-economy Strategy 2018–2030 is based on five points: (i) ensuring food and nutrition security, (ii), managing natural resources in a sustainable way (iii) reducing dependence on non-renewable, unsustainable resources, whether sourced domestically or from abroad, (iv) mitigating and adapting to climate change, (v) maintaining European competitiveness and creating new jobs [1]
A C:Nt ratio of 6:1 in the C fertilizer resulted in a rate of 0.2 t ha−1 which was high enough to achieve the highest yield for this set of plots (−3.4% with respect to the mineral fertilizer standard)
It is necessary to stress that rates of C fertilizer above 0.2 t ha−1 resulted in the yield drop
Summary
The European Bio-economy Strategy 2018–2030 is based on five points: (i) ensuring food and nutrition security, (ii), managing natural resources in a sustainable way (iii) reducing dependence on non-renewable, unsustainable resources, whether sourced domestically or from abroad, (iv) mitigating and adapting to climate change, (v) maintaining European competitiveness and creating new jobs [1]. The main sources of biomass used for energy production in Europe are solid biomass and its residues, which delivers about 80% of produced energy in total [6]. The market potential for biomass production for energy in Poland is 15.5 million t annually, of which 1/3 can be covered by straw (rap, cereals) [5,7]. This amount of combusted biomass, based on various sources, results in 0.4–0.6 million t year−1 of ash. This is a substantial amount of residue, which needs to be managed in an efficient way. The best solution, taking into account RED II, is to use biomass ash as a lime or a source for mineral fertilizer production
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