Handling and spreading of fertilizers part 1: Physical properties of fertilizer in relation to particle motion

Field‐Scale Evaluation of Biosolids‐Derived Organomineral Fertilizers Applied to Winter Wheat in England

“…Poorer physical properties of OMF 15 compared to OMF 10 in the batch applied in 2008 also explain relative differences in use-efficiency between the two materials (Jensen and Pesek, 1962). Therefore, improved quality control is a key requirement for mechanized application of OMF, as fine particles (<1.00 mm) are often the fraction responsible for high coefficient of variation (CV) during broadcast spreading (Hoffmeister et al, 1964;Hofstee and Huisman, 1990). Reduced fertilizer use efficiency and financial losses due to uneven fertilizer application become significant when CV exceeds about 10%, considered to be the target value for disc type spreaders (Miller et al, 2009).…”

Development of organomineral fertilisers derived from nutrient-enriched biosolids granules: product specification

“…The device has a load-cell that senses the vertical load applied to the particle and it was connected to a laptop computer which recorded the force applied versus the time. The force required to induce the breaking of the particle (Hofstee and Huisman, 1990) or its complete compression, as determined by visual assessment, was recorded. For known crosshead speed, the vertical load versus time plot was converted to vertical load versus displacement (Gouw and Wevers, 1982).…”

“…This is due to smaller and larger particles coming through in turns during loading and being subsequently delivered at different times during spreading (Bradley and Farnish, 2005). As a result, the uniformity of distribution both longitudinally and transversely can be adversely affected (Hofstee and Huisman, 1990;Persson, 1996;Bradley and Farnish, 2005).…”

“…Hofstee and Huisman, 1990;Miller, 1996;Agnew andLeonard, 2003. Miller (1996) indicated that fertiliser materials which have moderately high crushing strength can resist handling, storage and spreading without significant shattering, dust-formation or caking.…”

Determining the particle size range of organomineral fertilisers based on the spreading characteristics of the material

“…Pitt et al (1982) derived approximating equations for particle trajectory which enable estimating their landing point depending on the initial velocity and height. A comprehensive review of the early research was conducted by Huisman (1990), andHofstee (1992; who investigated the physical properties of fertilisers in relation to particle dynamics.…”