Abstract
Farmers have used liquid waste from the enzyme industry as fertilizer. To determine the impact of liquid waste from enzymes (LWEs) on soil properties, plant growth and nutrient content in pasture, an experiment was conducted with five different rates of LWE application (0, 45, 90, 135 and 180 m 3 ha -1 ) to a Cambisol in August 2006. In August 2007, 60 m 3 ha -1 of LWE was applied in every treatment. Soil was sampled on four different dates and at four different depths (0-10, 10-20, 20-40 and 40-60 cm) to verify changes in its chemical properties. Soil was improved in terms of acidity and availability of Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , K + and P in the 0-10 cm layer, indicating that the effect of LWE is corrective concerning these attributes. There was also improvement in pasture quality through increased levels of N, P and K in plants during the first year of waste application. The use of larger doses of LWE led to increases in productivity (42.6 kg dry weight m -3 residues). These results indicate that the application of LWE is feasible for the fertilization of this grassland containing low-fertility acidic Cambisol.
Highlights
Industrial waste has been used in agricultural applications as a source of nutrients, such as vinasse in sugarcane areas (CANELLAS et al, 2003)
The increases in soil pH were linear overall for all treatments up to 60 cm deep; the most significant effects occurred close to the surface. This finding demonstrates that liquid waste from enzymes (LWEs) has an impact on soil acidity, both at the surface and at greater depths (Figure 1)
The effect of LWE on soil acidity below a depth of 20 cm could be associated with two potential processes: 1 - the occurrence of a large number of biopores when soil is not tilled (GEOHRING et al, 2001); and 2 - the addition of organic compounds with LWE, which facilitates the penetration of corrective compounds (PAVAN, 1999)
Summary
Industrial waste has been used in agricultural applications as a source of nutrients, such as vinasse in sugarcane areas (CANELLAS et al, 2003). Among the soil systems to which industrial waste has been applied, pastures are the most appropriate because they provide easy access to farm equipment year round and are found throughout the Brazilian territory. Agronomy hectares of land in Brazil, of which 5.7 million hectares are natural pastures located in Paraná State (IBGE, 2010). In most Brazilian pastures, the soil has low natural fertility; it is necessary to constantly replace nutrients in these soils. Pasture productivity and quality decrease over time when no nutrient replacement takes place. This reduction causes a subsequent decrease in the performance of pasture-raised cattle (COSTA et al, 2009)
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