Effect of Sewage Sludge Compost Usage on Corn and Faba Bean Growth, Carbon and Nitrogen Forms in Plants and Soil

Hassan E Abd Elsalam,Bassem M Raafat,Abdallah E Mohamed,Eman H El-Gamal,Mohamed E El- Sharnouby

doi:10.3390/agronomy11040628

Hassan E Abd Elsalam, Bassem M Raafat + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11040628

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Abstract

Sewage sludge is an effective fertilizer in many soil types. When applied as an amendment, sludge introduces, in addition to organic matter, plant nutrients into the soil. When applied for cropland as a fertilizer, the mass loading of sewage sludge is customarily determined by inputs of N and/or P required to support optimal plant growth and a successful harvest. This study aims to examine the changes in organic matter contents and nitrogen forms in sludge-amended soils, as well as the growth of corn and faba bean plants. The main results indicated that there were higher responses to the corn and faba bean yields when sludge was added. Levels of organic carbon in soil were higher after maize harvest and decreased significantly after harvesting of beans, and were higher in sludge amended soils than unmodified soils, indicating the residual effect of sludge in soil. NO3−-N concentrations were generally higher in the soil after maize harvest than during the plant growth period, but this trend was not apparent in bean soil. The amounts of NH4+-N were close in the soil during the growth period or after the maize harvest, while they were higher in the soil after the bean harvest than they were during the growth period. Total nitrogen amounts were statistically higher in the soil during the growth period than those collected after the corn harvest, while they were approximately close in the bean soil. The total nitrogen amount in corn and bean leaves increased significantly in plants grown on modified sludge soil. There were no significant differences in the total nitrogen levels of the maize and beans planted on the treated soil.

Highlights

Sustainable agriculture management practices include recycling nutrients in plants back to future production
Referred to as sewage sludge (SS) or domestic wastewater residuals, are insoluble biological solid residues or organic waste resulting from different sewage treatment processes [6,7] in wastewater treatment plants worldwide [8]
NO3 − -N concentration was the dominant form of inorganic-N, a result that agreed with the findings reported by Yousif and Mubarak [56]

Summary

Introduction

Sustainable agriculture management practices include recycling nutrients in plants back to future production. Apart from the recycling of beneficial plant nutrients, soil application of biosolids may do away with the requirement for commercial fertilization of cropland [1,2,3] and can be used as a substitute for chemical fertilizers [4]. Referred to as sewage sludge (SS) or domestic wastewater residuals, are insoluble biological solid residues or organic waste resulting from different sewage treatment processes [6,7] in wastewater treatment plants worldwide [8]. Sludge-amended soil differs, to varying extents, from its equivalent unsludged control soil. It tends to have a higher content of organic matter (OM) with variable rates of decomposition, a higher concentration of macro-and micro-nutrients, and the activity of soil microorganisms may be different [7,10]. Sludge is a good source of N and P for agronomic crops, and many examples of its use on agronomic crops, forest trees, horticulture crops, and plants grown on reclaimed lands have been reported in the literature [11,12,13]

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