The Effect of Biogas Slurry Application on Biomass Production and Forage Quality of Lolium Multiflorum

Wenzhi Xu,Chaowen Lin,Hong Wang,Yongqun Zhu,Xie Wang,Lei Ji,Li Yao

doi:10.3390/su13073605

Abstract

The development of ecological circular agriculture has been highly encouraged to recycle agricultural wastes, reduce mineral fertilizer input, and protect the environment. Biogas slurry (BS), a by-product of biogas production generated from anaerobic digestion of animal waste and crop residues, is often considered a substitute to reduce mineral fertilizer input. Being a cheap source of organic matter and plant nutrients, its application may improve soil fertility and yield quality and quantity. The field experiments were conducted in 2016 and 2017 to study the plant growth responses and forage quality by applying biogas slurry to replace chemical synthetic fertilizer (CSF). Results revealed that biogas slurry combination with chemical synthetic fertilizer significantly (p < 0.05) improved the growth of Italian ryegrass on treatment with T2, and the Italian ryegrass dry matter was increased by more than 9.00%, while the stem-to-leaf ratio was decreased by more than 12% (second cutting), in comparison with only chemical synthetic fertilizer group. In the case of forage quality, the crude protein (CP) and crude fiber (CF) content had a significant difference was observed between the T0 and T2 treatment group. Compare with the chemical synthetic fertilizer group, the CP content improved by 10.35%, and the CF content decreased about 10.00%. Based on these results, it was concluded that the application of 37.5 kg/ha CSF + 100.5 t/ha BS could improve the production of biomass and forage quality in Italian ryegrass.

Highlights

As number of livestock has increased all around the world, the amount of animal manure has increased simultaneously
In the 2nd growth season, the plant height of Italian ryegrass was non-significantly changed with the increased biogas slurry at second and third cutting, while T2 was obviously higher than T0 which was no biogas slurry applied
A by-product of biogas production generated from anaerobic digestion of animal waste and crop residues, is often considered a substitute to reduce mineral fertilizer input

Summary

Introduction

As number of livestock has increased all around the world, the amount of animal manure has increased simultaneously. From 2006 to 2016, the number of total livestock increased from 293.48 to 374.99 million in Bangladesh [1]. In China, the livestock population is estimated to be 9.03 million cattle and buffaloes, 0.61 million horses and donkeys, 44.06 million goats and sheep, and 74.66 million hogs in 2017 [2]. The increasing amounts of the livestock wastes, such as feces and urine, were difficulty in disposing of as it induced extensive environmental pollution [3,4]. Holm-Nielsen et al [5] have suggested that increasing animal production areas need suitable manure management and to optimize their recycling. It is necessary to find out a cost-effective way to dispose of these wastes

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion