Sewage Sludge Influences Nitrogen Uptake, Translocation, and Use Efficiency in Sunflower
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Sewage Sludge Influences Nitrogen Uptake, Translocation, and Use Efficiency in Sunflower Spyridon D. Koutroubas 1 & Vasileios Antoniadis 2 & Christos A. Damalas 1
&
Sideris Fotiadis 1
Received: 30 January 2020 / Accepted: 5 May 2020 # Sociedad Chilena de la Ciencia del Suelo 2020
Abstract A better understanding of crop and soil response to biosolids is necessary for optimizing their use as soil amendments. The present study examined the influence of sewage sludge application on N accumulation, partitioning, translocation, and N use in sunflower and on soil properties compared with mineral fertilizers. Treatments included the application of sewage sludge (9, 18, and 36 Mg dry weight ha−1 year−1), an inorganic fertilizer (138 kg N plus 55 kg P2O5 ha−1 year−1), and a non-amended control. Sewage sludge increased early crop growth rate and N uptake at levels similar to or even greater than those obtained with the inorganic fertilizer. Nitrogen translocation was correlated with nitrogen translocation efficiency (r = 0.66*); both parameters appeared to be associated with source and sink attributes. Nitrogen use efficiency and nitrogen uptake efficiency were decreased with increasing rates of sewage sludge following a quadratic response curve. The estimated nitrogen use efficiency of sewage sludge-added N was greater than that of the inorganic fertilizer when sewage sludge was applied at agronomically realistic rates (< 26 Mg ha−1 in the first year or < 18 Mg ha−1 in the second year). Sewage sludge application increased soil organic matter and Olsen P compared with the control. Soil electrical conductivity in sewage sludge treatments remained at acceptable levels and soil concentrations of DTPA-extractable trace elements were similar to those of the control or the inorganic fertilizer. In the light of these findings, treated municipal sewage sludge may be used in sunflower intended for biodiesel production replacing mineral fertilizers serving as alternative sewage sludge disposal method. Keywords Oilseed crops . Fertilization . Microelements . Nutrient uptake . Nitrogen translocation
1 Introduction Appropriate crop nutrition is essential to maximize crop yield, improve the quality of agricultural products, and maintain the sustainability of cropping systems. In conventional agricultural production systems, crop nutrient requirements are usually met with the application of mineral fertilizers. Since the mineral fertilizer costs have followed an increasing trend over time (Wesseler et al. 2015), farmers are searching for more profitable ways to enhance soil fertility. Sewage sludge (SS), a * Spyridon D. Koutroubas [email protected] * Christos A. Damalas [email protected] 1
Department of Agricultural Development, Democritus University of Thrace, GR-682 00 Orestiada, Greece
2
Department of Agriculture, Crop Production and Rural Environment, University of Thessaly, GR-384 46 Volos, Greece
secondary product of wastewater treatment process, may be explored for potential replacement or supplement
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