Cultivation of sorghum and sunflower in soils with amendment of sludge from industrial landfill

Leonardo Capeleto De Andrade,Flávio Anastácio De Oliveira Camargo,Robson Andreazza

doi:10.1007/s40093-018-0236-4

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this work was to evaluate the impacts of the amendment of industrial landfill sludge (ILS) in two different soils with cultivation of sunflower and sorghum plants.MethodsThe plants grew in two types of soils (Typic Paleudult—TP, and Grossarenic Hapludult—GH) with different doses of ILS (0, 2, 5, 10, and 20 Mg ha−1). The evaluation of the pH, electrical conductivity, available concentrations of P, K, Ca, Mg, and Na, and the hydrolysis of FDA in the soils were tested. The height and dry mass of both plants were measured, as well as the stem diameter of the sunflower. The total concentration of Cu, Cd, Cr, and Pb was evaluated in the plants and soils, in addition to the translocation factor of those in the plants.ResultsThe amendment of ILS in the soils was efficient to increase the pH and macronutrients, as to increase the biomass production. The largest production occurred with 10 Mg ha−1, and the highest dose (20 Mg ha−1) had negative effects in all treatments. Both plants had low accumulation of Cu, Cd, and Pb in their tissues. Cr increased in the roots of sunflower plants (especially in the TP soil) without translocation to the shoots.ConclusionsThe amendment of ILS in soils is an alternative to disposal with benefits to plants and soil quality. TP soil presented better results, being more secure to receive the sludge due to its higher content of clay when compared to the GH soil.

Highlights

Urban and industrial activities generate a wide range of wastes, which have high potential for environmental impact, high-cost treatments, and environmental problems when sent to landfills
The biomass production of both sunflower and sorghum plants was affected by the doses of industrial landfill sludge (ILS), with positive effects until some doses and negative effects with the highest dose, 20 Mg ha−1 (Fig. 1)
Beneficial effects on the growth of both plants occurred until the 10 Mg ha−1 dose of ILS, presenting the largest biomass production, especially on the Typic Paleudult (TP) soil

Summary

Introduction

Urban and industrial activities generate a wide range of wastes, which have high potential for environmental impact, high-cost treatments, and environmental problems when sent to landfills. The amendment of wastes in soils may solve many problems, and it has some advantages, such as being organic fertilizers in total or partial replacement for chemical fertilizers commonly used in agriculture (Santos et al 2011; de Andrade et al 2016; Lloret et al 2016). Landfills are a main destination of by-products from industrial processes (Celary and Sobik-Szołtysek 2014). These landfills generate long-term effluents named leachate. A simple return of leachate sludge to cells can promote a concentration of chemical elements which extend environmental liabilities (de Andrade et al 2016)

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