Effects of Vermicompost and Water Treatment Residuals on Soil Physical Properties and Wheat Yield

Mahmoud, I.Y.; Mahmoud, Essawy K.; Ibrahim, Doaa

doi:10.1515/intag-2015-0029

Cited by 42 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Heil and Barbarick (1989) found that low (5 g kg −1 ) application rates of Al and Fe WTRs to soils increased yield of sorghum-sudangrass (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench), attributed to their Fe contributions and pHincreasing abilities. During trials of co-application of WTRs and vermicomposts, Ibrahim et al (2015) found that a 2:1 ratio of WTR to vermicompost with a combined application rate of 5 g kg −1 resulted in greater wheat yields than all other treatments tested, which included pure vermicompost and control (i.e. dried and sieved soil only) treatments.…”

Section: Land Application For General Soil Improvementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential Alternative Reuse Pathways for Water Treatment Residuals: Remaining Barriers and Questions—a Review

Turner

Wheeler²,

Stone³

et al. 2019

Water Air Soil Pollut

110

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Water treatment residuals (WTRs) are byproducts of the coagulation and flocculation phase of the drinking water treatment process that is employed in the vast majority of water treatment plants globally. Production of WTRs are liable to increase as clean drinking water becomes a standard resource. One of the largest disposal routes of these WTRs was via landfill, and the related disposal costs are a key driver behind the operational cost of the water treatment process. WTRs have many physical and chemical properties that lend them to potential positive reuse routes. Therefore, a large quantity of literature has been published on alternative reuse strategies. Existing or suggested alternative disposal routes for WTRs can be considered to fall within several categories: use as a pollutant and excess nutrient absorbent in soils and waters, bulk land application to agricultural soils, use in construction materials, and reuse through elemental recovery or as a wastewater coagulant. The main concerns and limitations restricting current and future beneficial uses of WTRs are discussed within. This includes those limitations linked to issues that have received much research attention such as perceived risks of undesirable phosphorous immobilisation and aluminium toxicity in soils, as well as areas that have received little coverage such as implications for terrestrial ecosystems following land application of WTRs.

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Section: Land Application For General Soil Improvementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential Alternative Reuse Pathways for Water Treatment Residuals: Remaining Barriers and Questions—a Review

Turner

Wheeler²,

Stone³

et al. 2019

Water Air Soil Pollut

110

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Therefore, it can be assumed that various organic compounds are released with the disintegration of sugarcane pith during the incubation period, which also facilitates aggregate formation. The sugarcane pith also possibly results in an increase in the release of soil agglutinants such as polysaccharides as a result of their decomposition because of an increase in biological activity (Sanjuán et al ., ), which contributes to the increase in soil aggregate stability (Khotabaei et al ., ; Ibrahim et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…() showed that organic agricultural byproducts could be used as alternative low‐cost amendments to improve plant growth conditions in saline‐sodic soil without negative environmental effects. For example, straw and manures (Prapagar et al ., ; Adane et al ., ), composts (Abdel‐Fattah, ), municipal biosolids and vermicompost (Khotabaei et al ., ; Ibrahim et al ., ) and other organic wastes (Prapagar et al ., ; Diacono & Montemurro, ) have also been used in reclamation studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Amendment with sugarcane pith improves the hydrophysical characteristics of saline‐sodic soil

El‐Halim

Lennartz

2017

European J Soil Science

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Summary The application of organic materials is an environmental practice in soil restoration, but the use of sugarcane pith, a by‐product of the paper industry, as an amendment in soil reclamation has not been tested so far. The objective of this study was to quantify the effects of the application of sugarcane pith on various hydrophysical properties of saline‐sodic soil. A 4‐month incubation pot trial under stagnant water and leaching conditions was carried out. Application of 5, 10 and 20 t ha−1 pith led to a decrease in bulk density by 19, 41 and 42%, respectively, and a corresponding increase in drainable porosity. Likewise, soil structure expressed in terms of aggregate stability was enhanced substantially from 0.5 to 0.9. Water‐saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) and available water content were also positively affected by the amendments with pith; these changes were attributed to its spongy nature and the increase in organic matter with its decomposition. The doubling of Ks to 1.4 cm hour−1 with the application of 20 t ha−1 pith was considered crucial because it resulted in larger rates of leaching of salt. The fast decomposition of pith released Ca2+, Mg2+ and K+ ions, which accelerated the leaching of Na+. We recommend that saline‐sodic soil of the type that we investigated in this study should be amended with sugarcane pith powder up to a rate of 10 t ha−1. Future work should investigate the effects of pith amendments in field trials on a wide range of types of saline‐sodic soil. Highlights Is fresh sugarcane pith effective as an amendment for saline‐sodic soil? Sugarcane pith could play a vital role in the management and reclamation of saline‐sodic soil. Application of 10–20 t ha−1 sugarcane pith positively affected soil physicochemical properties. Sugarcane pith applied to saline‐sodic soil improves the hydrophysical characteristics.

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“…Other studies have demonstrated the positive effect of vermicompost addition on soil bulk density (Azami et al, 2008;Gopinath et al, 2008;Ibrahim et al, 2015;Singh et al, 2013) and water holding capacity (Ganesh et al, 2011;Parthasarathi et al 2008).…”

Section: Physical Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 95%

Nitrogen Dynamics of Vermicompost Use in Sustainable Agriculture

Broz¹,

Verma²,

Appel³

2016

J. Soil Sci. Environ. Manage.

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Vermicomposting is a process where worms are used to transform organic waste products into fertilizers for agricultural use and as soil amendments to improve soil health. Vermicompost is used in agriculture as both an organic fertilizer and a soil amendment due to its large biological component and abundant nutrient concentrations, in particular nitrogen (N). Vermicomposts promote soil microbial biodiversity by inoculating the soil with a wide array of beneficial microbes, which can enhance plant growth by the production of plant growth-regulating hormones and enzymes while also controlling plant pathogens and nematodes, all of which can minimize crop yield losses. Current and historical studies have evaluated many vermicompost types for their ability to increase crop growth, development, and fruit quality across a wide range of field and greenhouse crops. Many of these studies conclude that crop response to vermicompost can meet or exceed crop response to conventional rates of synthetic fertilizers. Vermicompost use has therefore been increasingly considered in conventional and organic agricultural systems as an alternative to synthetic fertilizers to decrease N losses. However, it is difficult to determine the short and long-term effects to soil N cycling with increased vermicompost use in agriculture. Here, we summarize the current state of knowledge regarding the influence of vermicompost on N dynamics in laboratory and agricultural settings. In particular, the physical, chemical and biological means of N cycle alteration following vermicompost use is examined, with emphasis on the ability of vermicomposts to influence N leaching. We find conflicting results regarding the influence of vermicomposts on soil N dynamics, in particular the influence of vermicompost on soil N flux over short and long time scales. We find evidence for both soil N retention and leaching with vermicompost use, largely contingent on rate of application and vermicompost type.The differences in chemical, biological and physical properties between vermicompost types along with a wide range of recommended rates of application may pose problems for large-scale adaptation of vermicompost use in commercial agriculture. It is important to determine a proper "goldilocks" rate of vermicompost amendment for crop systems that supports high crop yield while minimizing N leaching. We conclude that much research still needs to be performed in laboratory and field settings to study N dynamics with vermicomposts.

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Effects of Vermicompost and Water Treatment Residuals on Soil Physical Properties and Wheat Yield

Cited by 42 publications

References 26 publications

Potential Alternative Reuse Pathways for Water Treatment Residuals: Remaining Barriers and Questions—a Review

Potential Alternative Reuse Pathways for Water Treatment Residuals: Remaining Barriers and Questions—a Review

Amendment with sugarcane pith improves the hydrophysical characteristics of saline‐sodic soil

Nitrogen Dynamics of Vermicompost Use in Sustainable Agriculture

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