Abstract
Nitrogen is an effective material for improving the crop production. There is a big concern about rising chemical nitrogen usage as fertilizer in soil, because some forms of nitrogen absorbs in soil and causes an increase of environment and water pollution and decrease fertilizer efficiency. Composted cow manure is an important resource of organic nitrogen which improves the soil conditions. However, low density of composted cow manure and inconstant nutrient content are two factors that limit the application of composted cow manure. The densification technology is an effective solution for both problems. In this research first the capability of single screw extruder for production of fertilizer pellets including composted cow manure and nitrogen fertilizer was studied and then the effect of fertilizer pellet on the reduction of chemical nitrogen consumption was evaluated. The response of basil plants was determined in three treatments: T1 control (no fertilizer), T2 (nitrogen fertilizer) and T3 (pellet). The results showed that pelletization can be used as a proper method for slow-release nitrogen fertilizer; enhance nitrogen uptake and reducing the chemical nitrogen consumption. The results also showed that all basil responses (chlorophyll content, total weight, leaves weight, root weight and leaf area) were significantly affected by application of N fertilizer and pellet. While maximum recorded parameters were observed with application pellet.
Highlights
Iran is the sixteenth largest country in the world with an area of more than 160 million hectares and its cultivated area is about 15 million hectares
The response of basil plants was determined in three treatments: T1 control, T2 and T3
The results showed that pelletization can be used as a proper method for slow-release nitrogen fertilizer; enhance nitrogen uptake and reducing the chemical nitrogen consumption
Summary
Iran is the sixteenth largest country in the world with an area of more than 160 million hectares and its cultivated area is about 15 million hectares. Substantial growth in the use of chemical nitrogen (N) fertilizer in Iran since the 1980s has provided significant economic and social benefits, including higher farm incomes, improved food consumption and the maintenance of national food security. Iran is one of the largest consumers of N fertilizer. Nitrogen input is essential for high crop yields, but an excess use of N fertilizer cannot promise a substantial increase in crop productivity. Too much N fertilizer results in diminishing crop returns [1] and leads to diminished environmental quality and human well-being [2,3]. Excess N fertilizer use and runoff causes eutrophication in waterways which threatens human, animal and plant health
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