Production of Oxalic Acid as Influenced by the Application of Organic Residue and Its Effect on Phosphorus Uptake by Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in an Inceptisol of North India

Abstract

In the present experiment, an effort was made to explore the possibility of utilizing the organic residue i.e. press mud and bagasse byproducts generated from sugar industries to enhance the P uptake by different varieties of wheat. The experiment was conducted with five varieties of wheat (HD 2687, HD 2733, HD 2643, HD 2932 and HD 2894 and three levels of organic residue (a mixture of press mud, bagasse and rice straw in 1:1:1 ratio) i.e. 0, 5 and 10 t/ha. The addition of organic residue had resulted in the production of oxalic acid by the crop. Higher oxalic acid content (9.21 lg/g) was produced by the variety HD 2687 at 60 days after sowing which resulted in the mobilization of immobile soil P and helped in increasing the uptake of P by the crop. The P uptake increased by about 77 % in the treatment that received the organic residue applied @ 10 t/ha over control. It was concluded that organic residue from sugar industries could be used to utilize to mobilize the native soil P to overcome the problem of phosphorus fixation in soils in future.

Phosphorus activators contribute to legacy phosphorus availability in agricultural soils: A review

“…The lignin content in black liquor solids (which are now regularly applied to agricultural soils) can be up to 35% (Tian et al, 2015). Dotaniya et al (2014) reported that organic residues such as press mud and bagasse by-products could release organic acids and enhance P availability in soil. About 600 million tonnes of crop straw are produced every year in China (Zeng et al, 2007) which is often re-incorporated into soilincreasing both the lignin and organic matter contents.…”

Influence of Bio-fertilizer on guava (Psidium guajava L.) cultivation in gangetic alluvial plain of West Bengal, India

“…Similarly maximum leaf (Chauhan, 2008). Addition of biofertilizer induced production of oxalic acid by the plants that resulted in mobilization of immobile soil P and helped in increasing the uptake of P by the plants (Dotaniya et al, 2014;McDowell et al, 2000). Increased macronutrient uptake with the application of biofertilizer was reported in several fruit crops viz.…”

Sugar Industry Wastes as Wealth of Organic Carbon for Soil

“…The chemical characteristics such as pH, electrical conductivity (EC), cation exchange capacity (CEC), and biological factors like microbial pollution have been improved due to application of composted press mud [35]. The by-products of sugar industry can be utilized for carbon sequestration, which means transferring of carbon fractions or CO 2 into various carbon pools like forest, soil for long periods of time that can be stored [36]. Application of press mud as an organic manure shows 150% increase in the organic carbon after first application, and it has the potential to store more carbon and also help in reducing the impact of global warming.…”

“…Generally, the addition of organic residues to soil maximizes the organic carbon content and also activate the other nutrients [36]. Further, the application of organic compounds enhances the microbial population and microbial diversity in the soil, because the organic residues contain organic sources for its energy [37].…”