A fertilizer recovered from wastewater could help potato growers keep yields while losing less phosphorus, research from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) suggests, Farms.com reports.
The material, struvite, captures phosphorus and nitrogen from municipal and industrial wastewater. Once processed it becomes a granular fertilizer that releases nutrients more slowly than conventional products. That matters because phosphate rock is non-renewable, and conventional phosphorus dissolves readily in water, so any excess can build up in soil and later run off into waterways.
Researchers tested struvite and blends in potato systems at AAFC centres in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec, where rainfall and sloping land raise runoff risk.
Price is the obstacle. AAFC puts the cost of struvite per unit of phosphorus at about 2.19 times that of conventional fertilizer. Research scientist Mohammad Khakbazan weighed production costs, yields and environmental impacts, and found a blend of 75 percent conventional fertilizer and 25 percent struvite the most effective approach examined.
In Quebec and Prince Edward Island that mix produced noticeable yield increases with returns comparable to or better than conventional fertilizer alone. Results differed in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, likely because of soils and climate, AAFC says.
Adding struvite cut environmental costs by as much as 22 percent, largely through lower runoff, and fewer applications during the season reduced operating costs. "Despite higher upfront costs, the right mix of struvite fertilizer can offer a renewable alternative for potato farmers without sacrificing yields," Khakbazan said.
Photo: Share Bear / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Source: Farms.com
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