Meat and bone meal as nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer to cereals and rye grass

Abstract

Meat and bone meal (MBM) contains appreciable amounts of total nitrogen (8%), phosphorus (5%) and calcium (10%). It may therefore be a useful fertilizer for various crops. This paper shows results from both pot and field experiments on the N and P effects of MBM. In two field experiments with spring wheat, increasing amounts of MBM (500, 1000, 2000 kg MBM ha 1 ) showed a linear yield increase related to the N-supply. A similar experiment with barley gave positive yield increase for 500 kg MBM ha 1 and no further yield increase for larger amounts of MBM. Supply of extra mineral P gave no yield increase when 500 kg MBM ha 1 or more was applied. Meat and bone meal as P fertilizer was studied in greenhouse experiments using spring barley and rye grass as test crops. N applications were 100 N kg ha 1 to barley and 200 kg N ha 1 to rye grass, either from mineral fertilizer or assuming that 80% of total N in MBM was effective. Four different P deficient soils were given increasing doses of MBM and compared with compound NPK fertilizer 11-5-18, mineral N fertilizer (0 kg P ha 1 ) and a control (0 kg N ha 1 , 0 kg P ha 1 ). In barley there was no significant yield difference between the NPK treatment and MBM treatment with equal N supply, and both had significant higher yield than the treatment receiving the same amount of mineral N without P-supply. The positive yield response of MBM was even larger in rye grass. Both in barley and rye grass a significant residual effect of P from MBM applied the year before was found when the treatments received the same amount of mineral N fertilizer (0 kg P ha 1 ). The pot experiments confirmed the assumed N effect of MBM. When MBM is used according to the N demand of the crops, the P supply will be more than sufficient and residual P will be left in the soil. Since a part of this residual P was utilized by the crops of the following year, it is not recommended to apply P-fertilizer the year after MBM application.