Effective Nutrient Sources for Plant Growth on Bauxite Residue

Abstract

We conducted a field experiment to evaluate alternatives to poultry manure, the normal fertilizer used for growing dust control crops and native vegetation on bauxite residue sand. We compared plant growth, nutrient uptake and residue properties after applications of poultry manure, compost, composted poultry manure and inorganic fertilizer. The compost used was prepared from green waste treated with piggery waste. Plant growth was poor under the compost and composted poultry manure treatments, which produced 0.69 and 1.11 t ha− 1 of above ground biomass, respectively. This compared with 2.43 t ha− 1 from the inorganic fertilizer treatment which had a similar biomass to the poultry manure treatment (3.00 t ha− 1). All treatments, including poultry manure, had low foliar concentrations of some nutrients, with low levels of N, P, K, Mg, Cu and Zn found in most treatments.