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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Agriculture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2023) | Viewed by 28376

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Dr. Monika Mierzwa-Hersztek

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1. Department of Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry, University of Agriculture in Krakow, al. Mickiewicza 21, 31-120 Krakow, Poland
2. Department of Mineralogy, Petrography and Geochemistry, Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection, AGH University of Science and Technology, al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
Interests: soil fertility; nutrient management; soil chemistry; biofertilizers; environment; nutrient cycling; fertilizers; environmental science
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Dear Colleagues,

In modern agriculture, nutrient management and fertilizer application are the most crucial factors affecting plant growth, yield, and quality performances. Organic fertilizers, compared to inorganic fertilizers, maintain soil quality, increase soil organic matter, as well as improve soil physical and chemical properties through the decomposition of its substances. Organic matter enhances soil nutrients, plant growth regulators, and biodiversity. In recent years, the quality and health of soil fertilized with, e.g., exogenous organic matter of waste origin, which is part of the principles of sustainable development and circular economy, is widely recognized by and of great interest to a wide range of scientists around the world. There is an urgent need to apply numerous sources of organic fertilizers as a substitute to reduce the utilization rate of inorganic fertilizers. Manuscripts should focus, i.e., on the use of organic fertilizers (also waste material) in a new product (e.g., biochar, compost) and their impact on soil quality. Multidisciplinary research that embraces the diversity of sustainability perspectives is particularly appreciated.

The following are some of the major areas from which papers are encouraged:

Innovative practices in the management of organic fertilizers;
Monitoring of soil pollution with trace elements and organic contaminants;
Reclamation and revitalization of contaminated soils;
Ecotoxicity assessments and ecological risk assessment;
Organic fertilization impact on soil fertility and its effect on soil environment and plants;
Agricultural usefulness of organic fertilizers and waste products enriching soil with organic matter (sludges, industrial composts) and raw materials deacidifying soils (calcium, calcium–magnesium fertilizers);
Comparison of the effect of organic and mineral fertilization on soil quality and yield quality;
Fertilization value of organic materials and organic fertilizers
Best practices in solid waste collection and recycling—generation and characterization of waste;
Recycling and reuse;
Treatment (mechanical, biological, chemical, thermal, other);
An innovative mineral fertilizers with the addition of organic matter.

Dr. Monika Mierzwa-Hersztek
Guest Editor

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Keywords

organic fertilizers
compost
biochar
organic matter
nutrients
plant quality
exogenic organic matter
soil improvers
waste management
ecological risk assessment
microorganisms
enzymatic activity
soil pollutions

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Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 1904 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Azolla Biofertilizer Is an Effective Replacement for Urea Fertilizer in Vegetable Crops

by Aisha Jama, Dwi P. Widiastuti, Sutarman Gafur and Jessica G. Davis

Sustainability 2023, 15(7), 6045; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15076045 - 31 Mar 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4504

Abstract

Azolla spp. is a water fern that hosts Anabaena azolla, an N-fixing cyanobacterium, in its dorsal leaf cavities. Azolla occurs naturally in freshwater bodies in warm-temperate and tropical regions, and they have commonly been grown in rice paddies as a living fertilizer, providing N to the rice crop. We evaluated the potential use of Azolla harvested from freshwater bodies and applied as a biofertilizer to dryland vegetable crops. Two-thirds of the greenhouse gas emissions from crop production is attributed to N fertilizer, including fossil fuels used in fertilizer production and transportation. Azolla grown in on-farm ponds could remove CO₂ from the atmosphere and minimize the use of fossil fuels in fertilizer production and transport. A 140-d laboratory incubation was used to compare the N mineralization of Azolla biofertilizer with compost and cyanobacterial biofertilizer treatments. Azolla treatments had the greatest N availability at the end of the incubation (73.0%), with compost demonstrating the least N availability (15.5%), and the cyanobacterial biofertilizers moderate in N release (31.6%). A greenhouse study evaluated the N uptake and yield of kale (Brassica oleracea) receiving Azolla biofertilizer compared to urea and organic fertilizers. The nitrogen uptake by kale followed the same pattern as in the incubation study, with the Azolla treatments highest among the organic fertilizers, and urea the greatest overall. Compost yielded better than the control but was the lowest yielding among the fertilizer treatments. Finally, we compared the agronomic effect of Azolla biofertilizer with urea and manure applied at the same N rates to spinach (Amaranthus cruentus) and radish (Raphanus sativus) crops grown in the field on alluvial and peat soils. Fertilizer treatments affected the spinach yield at both locations but did not affect the radish yield. The manure treatment resulted in the highest spinach yields (18–27 t ha⁻¹), and the Azolla treatment applied at the same N rate as the manure yielded the same as the manure treatment on the peat soil and had the highest leaf and branch numbers. Azolla shows promise as a biofertilizer for dryland vegetable crops; however, an economic feasibility analysis is needed prior to encouraging the widespread adoption of on-farm Azolla production and use. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organic Fertilizers: Applications and Research)

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19 pages, 568 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of Various Organic Amendment Sources to Improve the Root Yield and Sugar Contents of Sugar Beet Genotypes (Beta vulgaris L.) under Arid Environments

by Muhammad Ijaz, Sami Ul-Allah, Abdul Sattar, Ahmad Sher, Ijaz Hussain and Ahmad Nawaz

Sustainability 2023, 15(5), 3898; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15053898 - 21 Feb 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1910

Abstract

Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) is a sucrose-rich tap root crop, with its fresh root containing up to 20% sucrose contents. Natural organic fertilizers can be a good alternative to synthetic fertilizers. For this purpose, an experiment was conducted for the optimization of different organic amendments i.e., farmyard manure, poultry manure, compost, and biochar. After the optimization experiment, pre-optimized doses of different organic amendments (farmyard manure, 40 t ha⁻¹; poultry manure, 20 t ha⁻¹; compost, 40 t ha⁻¹; and biochar, 20 t ha⁻¹) were evaluated for the production and root quality of two diverse sugar beet genotypes. The experiment was repeated over time (2019 and 2020) at four locations (BZU Research Farm Layyah, Farmer Field Layyah, Farmer Field Bhakkar-A and Farmer Field Bhakkar-B). Among different organic amendments, the use of an optimized rate of poultry manure (20 t ha⁻¹) was the most useful for improvement in root yield, sugar yield and sugar quality. Improvement in root yield was attributed to better leaf growth and root yield which resulted eventually in higher reserve accumulation in roots. The performance of genotype ‘California’ was superior to the genotype ‘Serenada’. In conclusion, growing of genotype ‘California’ in sandy loam soils with poultry manure application (20 t ha⁻¹) might be a pragmatic option to improve the sugar beet yield and sugar recovery. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organic Fertilizers: Applications and Research)

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18 pages, 4355 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Organic Fertilizer Supply on Soil Properties, Tomato Yield, and Fruit Quality: A Global Meta-Analysis

by Heling Fan, Yanshu Zhang, Jingchen Li, Jiajun Jiang, Abdul Waheed, Shuguang Wang, Syed Majid Rasheed, Li Zhang and Rongping Zhang

Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2556; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032556 - 31 Jan 2023

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 6513

Abstract

The increased use of chemical fertilizer input in agricultural production and the promotion of sustainable agriculture encourage researchers around the globe to undertake experiments regarding application of organic fertilizers on tomato production. This study aims to amalgamate the comprehensive effects of organic fertilizer application compared with the pure application of chemical fertilizers (100% CF) on soil properties, tomato yield, and fruit quality through meta-analysis. It helps to provide a certain reference for the sustainable development of circular agriculture systems in tomato planting. Articles related to the impact of organic fertilizers on tomato planting were searched on the Web of Science, Science direct, and Google Scholar. A total of 124 documents meeting the Meta-analysis criteria were screened out. A total of 2041 sets of data were screened for soil properties (electrical conductivity, pH, organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total potassium, ammonium nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium, bacteria, fungi, urease, catalase) and tomato yield and quality (nitrate, sugar, lycopene, protein). The normal fitting of the response ratio of each data revealed that all of them satisfied the Gaussian curve, and there was no publication bias. The application of organic fertilizers (the total) compared with 100% CF can increase the yield by 3.48%, acidic soil by (pH < 6) 7.98%, neutral soil by (pH = 6~8) 3.35%, soil organic matter by 24.43%, total nitrogen by 32.79%, total phosphorus by 23.97%, total potassium by 44.91%, available phosphorus by 14.46%, available potassium by 16.21%, soil bacteria by 5.94%, urease by 22.32%, and catalase by 17.68%. The application of organic fertilizers (the total) had no significant effect on ammonium nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, and soil fungi in the soil. After the subgroup analysis, bio-organic fertilizers (BF) can increase tomato yield by 14.15%, reduce soil electrical conductivity by 13.66%, and increase soil catalase activity by 24.55%. Ordinary organic fertilizer (OF) can improve tomato quality, reduce tomato nitrate by 13.02%, and increase sugar by 10.66%, lycopene by 10.78%, total nitrogen by 39.55%, total phosphorus by 29.11%, total potassium by 58.67%, soil bacteria by 6.54%, and urease by 25.41%. Both can increase tomato protein, soil pH, soil available phosphorus, and potassium, but neither can significantly affect the ammonium nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, and soil fungi in the soil. Correlation analysis revealed a significant positive correlation of tomato yield with lycopene, soil electricity conductivity, organic matter, ammonium nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, available phosphorus, and urease. The application of organic fertilizers can improve tomato yield and quality and soil properties more compared with 100% CF. BF have better effects on yield and soil electrical conductivity, whereas tomato quality and soil physical and chemical properties are more effected by OF. Hence, this study provides a pathway for the selection of organic fertilizer in tomato production. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organic Fertilizers: Applications and Research)

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16 pages, 2550 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Distinct Changes in Abundance of Culturable Microbial Community and Respiration Activities in Response to Mineral–Organic Mixture Application in Contaminated Soil

by Katarzyna Wolny-Koładka, Renata Jarosz, Michał Juda and Monika Mierzwa-Hersztek

Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 15004; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142215004 - 13 Nov 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1787

Abstract

The availability and affordability of fertilizers are the main risks currently faced by the fertilizer market. Therefore, there is a need to look for other sources of nutrient supply for plants, while taking care of soil properties. The application of fertilizers with the addition of functionalized materials could help in the efficient use of nutrients. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of the application of mixtures with the addition of zeolite–vermiculite composites (NaX–Ver) on the culturable microorganisms and selected soil properties. A two-year pot experiment was conducted on soil with elevated contents of cadmium, zinc, and lead. The test treatments included soil mixed with NPK and additives in two doses of NaX–Ver combined with leonardite (Leo) or lignite (L). The test plant used in the experiment was maize. The soil material was analyzed for the number of bacteria, mold fungi, actinomycetes, and ammonifiers. Furthermore, soil pH, EC, N total, and SOC contents, as well as soil respiration activity, were tested. The applied fertilizer mixtures had a great effect on changes in the N total and SOC contents. The N total increase was 45.5% in NaX–Ver3%L3% and 51% in NaX–Ver9%Leo6%, and the largest SOC increase (24.3%) was recorded in the NaX–Ver3%Leo3% treatment. The highest respiration activity was determined in NaX–Ver3%Leo3% and NaX–Ver9%Leo6%: 2.12 µg C-CO₂ g⁻¹ DM h⁻¹ and 2.14 µg C-CO₂ g⁻¹ DM h⁻¹, respectively. A significant correlation between pH values and the number of culturable microorganisms was found. The number of soil microorganisms depended on the type of fertilization used. The best stimulation of the number of culturable soil microorganisms was found in treatments with the addition of 3% of L or Leo in combination with NaX–Ver. The percentage increases in the number of the analyzed culturable microorganisms after the application of leonardite-based fertilization in combination with the zeolite–vermiculite composite were, on average: bacteria, 1096%; mold fungi, 1529%; actinomycetes, 1477%; ammonifiers, 910%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organic Fertilizers: Applications and Research)

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13 pages, 960 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of the Red Seaweed Gelidium sesquipedale By-Products as an Organic Fertilizer and Soil Amendment

by Hajare Errati, Sanae Krimi Bencheqroun, Rachid Aboutayeb, Zhor Abail, Salim Lebbar, Khadija Dari and Lahoucine Hilali

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 14217; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114217 - 31 Oct 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2428

Abstract

The agar extraction process of the red algae Gelidium sesquipedale generates a solid residue as the main by-product. However, this residue remains non-valorized, despite its potential as a fertilizer. This study aims to determine the value of G. sesquipedale residue as organic fertilizer and for soil amendments. An incubation test of G. sesquipedale residue in soils was performed to measure the nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and calcium (Ca) release. The potential fertilization effect of the residue was evaluated in a greenhouse on two crops: strawberry and corn. The amount of available P was high at the beginning of the incubation experiment. The amounts of nitrate–nitrogen (NO_₃⁻-N) and available Ca increased over the incubation time. A high efficiency of fertilization using the residue at different concentrations was observed in both crops. Application of the residue enhanced crop growth. The fertilization effect was associated with increased macro- and micro-elements in the strawberry fruit’s N, Ca, iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) and in the corn leaves’ N, P, magnesium (Mg), and Fe. Moreover, the residue was a good soil organic amendment as it enhanced the amount of organic matter (OM) and some macro- and micro-elements in the soil after plant harvest. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organic Fertilizers: Applications and Research)

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14 pages, 1928 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nitrogen Availability in Organic Fertilizers from Tannery and Slaughterhouse By-Products

by Salvatore Rapisarda, Giampaolo Di Biase, Martina Mazzon, Claudio Ciavatta and Luciano Cavani

Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 12921; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912921 - 10 Oct 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1951

Abstract

Agriculture can play a primary role in the context of nutrients recovery by promoting the use of organic fertilizers (OFs). In order to use them efficiently, it is necessary to predict the nitrogen (N) bioavailability, which is a challenging matter due to the different physical-chemical characteristics of commercially available OFs. This study aims to evaluate hot-water extractable N as a rapid and cheap chemical indicator of bioavailable N. The trial was conducted on nine animal-based OFs obtained from different raw materials and treatment processes. They were fully characterized and the bioavailable N was determined by a 7-week soil incubation experiment. The results showed that hot-water extractable N underestimated bioavailable N in the case of leather meal based OFs; however, a significant linear regression fitting was achieved (R² = 0.53). The C:N ratio was also assessed, which showed a negative correlation (−0.87) and a better linear regression fitting (R² = 0.76) with the bioavailable N, but manifested some limitations in the prediction of leather meal based products. This experiment showed that both hot-water extractable N and C:N ratio can provide useful information for farmers in managing this class of OFs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organic Fertilizers: Applications and Research)

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15 pages, 1786 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fertiliser Effect of Ammonia Recovered from Anaerobically Digested Orange Peel Using Gas-Permeable Membranes

by Carmo Horta, Berta Riaño, Ofélia Anjos and María Cruz García-González

Sustainability 2022, 14(13), 7832; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14137832 - 27 Jun 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1980

Abstract

The manufacture of mineral N fertilisers by the Haber–Bosch process is highly energy-consuming. The nutrient recovery technologies from wastes through low-cost processes will improve the sustainability of the agricultural systems. This work aimed to assess the suitability of the gas-permeable membrane (GPM) technology to recover N from an anaerobic digestate and test the agronomic behaviour of the ammonium sulphate solution (ASS) obtained. About 62% of the total ammonia nitrogen removed from digestate using GPM was recovered, producing an ASS with 14,889 ± 2324 mg N L⁻¹, which was more than six-fold higher than in digestate. The ASS agronomic behaviour was evaluated by a pot experiment with triticale as a plant test for 34 days in a growth chamber. Compared with the triticale fertilised with the Hoagland solution (Hoag), the ASS provided significantly higher biomass production (+29% dry matter), N uptake (+22%), and higher N agronomic efficiency 3.80 compared with 1.81 mg DM mg⁻¹N in Hoag, and a nitrogen fertiliser replacement value of 133%. These increases can be due to a biostimulant effect provided by the organic compounds of the ASS as assessed by the FT-Raman spectroscopy. The ASS can be considered a bio-based mineral N fertiliser with a biostimulant effect. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organic Fertilizers: Applications and Research)

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21 pages, 12795 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring the Potential of Straw Biochar for Environmentally Friendly Fertilizers

by Rositsa Velichkova, Martin Pushkarov, Radostina A. Angelova, Ognyan Sandov, Detelin Markov, Iskra Simova and Peter Stankov

Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 6323; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14106323 - 22 May 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3008

Abstract

The pyrolysis of wheat straw in order to produce biochar for soil amendment is a potential strategy for producing environmental friendly fertilizers capable of boosting soil fertility, increasing carbon storage, and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. However, straw biochar’s potential to influence these aspects may vary depending on its properties. Our study sought to investigate biochar from wheat straw from three different regions in Bulgaria. A specially designed set up was used for the biochar production. Three pyrolytic temperatures (300, 400, and 500 °C) were applied, resulting in nine biochar samples. The specific characteristics included moisture content, volatile substances content, ash content, fixed carbon content, and joint ash and carbon content, and they were determined for each sample. The chemical content, resulting in 17 chemical elements and compounds, was measured and analysed. The results obtained showed that the produced straw biochar has the potential to be used as a fertilizer and soil supplement. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Organic Fertilizers: Applications and Research)

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