Application of Granular and Non-Granular Organic Fertilizers in Terms of Energy, Environmental and Economic Efficiency

Abstract

Granular organic fertilizers have been increasingly used in agriculture due to the longer delivery of nutrients to plants and the milder impact on the environment. The aim of this study was to determine the energy, environmental and economic efficiency of granular and non-granular organic fertilizers. Four technological scenarios of organic fertilizer use were used for comparative assessment: (1) manure fertilization (16.0 t ha−1), (2) manure fertilization (30.0 t ha−1), (3) manure pellet fertilization (2.0 t ha−1), and (4) fertilization with meat and bone meal pellets (0.7 t ha−1). Experimental studies using the mass flow method of laser spectroscopy were performed to evaluate the comparative environmental impact of granular and non-granular organic fertilizers. Economic assessment was performed for mechanized technological operations of loading, transportation and distribution of organic fertilizers, estimating the price of aggregates used and fuel consumed, the costs of individual technological operations and other indirect costs. The results showed that for mechanized technological operations, when fertilizing with granular organic manure and meat and bone meal fertilizer, energy consumption is 3.2 to 4.0 times lower compared to fertilization with manure. The average ammonia (NH3) emissions from granular organic fertilizers were found to be six times lower than from non-granular organic fertilizers. The lowest costs for mechanized works were incurred when using meat and bone meal pellets, the highest economic benefits of organic fertilizers by elements was when using manure 30 t ha−1, and the highest costs for organic fertilizers were incurred when using manure pellets.

Implementation of Technical and Technological Progress in Dairy Production

“…These coefficients take into account changes in the overall efficiency of working processes with the change in the degree of power utilization of energy sources, e.g., engines. In the case of manual work, the energy utilization coefficient (β11), which is equivalent to the term "energy equivalent of working time" [37] used in the literature, is 1.96 MJ/man-h. As a result of the use of energy utilization coefficients in the calculation procedure, the usable energy (E11u, E12u, and E13u) is expressed in MJ units. Due to the expression in the same units, the usable energy components can be used to calculate the technological index level (T L ).…”

Effect of olive‐processing technology on the utilization of olive mill pomace as a soil amendment

“…In the case of garden waste compost, Lata and Marschner (2013) reported that adding the finest fraction (<3 mm) increased microbial biomass and P availability in soils more than the equivalent coarser fraction (>5 mm). Also, pellet diameters should be between 4 and 6 mm to ensure an even spread when using mineral or organic fertilizer spreaders (Šarauskis et al., 2021). The use of granulated organic fertilizers is becoming more popular in sustainable agriculture, especially since less fertilizer is needed compared to traditional compost amendment (Šarauskis et al., 2021).…”

“…Also, pellet diameters should be between 4 and 6 mm to ensure an even spread when using mineral or organic fertilizer spreaders (Šarauskis et al., 2021). The use of granulated organic fertilizers is becoming more popular in sustainable agriculture, especially since less fertilizer is needed compared to traditional compost amendment (Šarauskis et al., 2021). The application of granulated organic fertilizers also has beneficial long‐term effects on soil fertility, including increasing the availability of P and K and the content of TOC and humus (Mieldažys et al., 2019).…”

Szerves trágya granulátum hatása a muskátli taxonok díszítőértékére

“…A szemcsés szerves trágyák átlagos ammónia (NH3) kibocsátása hatszor alacsonyabb, mint a nem szemcsés szerves trágyáké. A különböző szerves trágyák lézerspektroszkópia elve szerinti elemzése kimutatta, hogy a szemcsés szerves trágyák 97,8%-kal csökkentik az NH3 kibocsátás negatív környezeti hatását a nem szemcsés trágyához képest [11]. Az istállótrágya 17,5%-os szárazanyag tartalmához viszonyítva a korszerű szervestrágya pellet általában 90%-os szárazanyag tartalommal bír.…”