Agronomic Issues with Alum-Sludge
A two year field experiment was established to investigate the use of alum sludge from wastewater treatment for cereal production. Alum sludge (5.0% N, 3.7% P, 7.5% Al) was applied at six rates (0, 3.4, 6.7, 10.1, 13.5 and 20.1 Mg DS ha-1) on a P deficient sand, supplying up to 744 kg P ha-1 at the...
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| Format: | Conference Paper |
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Australian Water Association
2010
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/23021 |
| _version_ | 1848751034985349120 |
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| author | Rigby, Hannah Pritchard, Deborah Collins, D. |
| author2 | Diane Wiesner |
| author_facet | Diane Wiesner Rigby, Hannah Pritchard, Deborah Collins, D. |
| author_sort | Rigby, Hannah |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | A two year field experiment was established to investigate the use of alum sludge from wastewater treatment for cereal production. Alum sludge (5.0% N, 3.7% P, 7.5% Al) was applied at six rates (0, 3.4, 6.7, 10.1, 13.5 and 20.1 Mg DS ha-1) on a P deficient sand, supplying up to 744 kg P ha-1 at the highest rate. In addition, one rate of inorganic fertiliser at district practice was applied, containing 72 kg N ha-1 and 20 kg P ha-1, this was reapplied in the second year. The inorganic fertiliser treatment yielded 44-58% higher than the nil fertiliser treatment at final grain harvest, demonstrating the requirement for applied N and P on this site for crop production. Alum sludge was an adequate source of nitrogen (N) for crop growth as indicated by plant tissue N content, and supplied sufficient residual N to meet crop requirements in the second year.However, grain yield in alum sludge treatments was reduced to 62% (year 1) and 69% (year 2) of the yield in the inorganic fertiliser treatment, though greater than the nil fertiliser treatment in both years. Plant shoot tissue analysis at 9 weeks after establishment at the tillering stage of development indicated that plants sown in alum sludge-amended soil and in the nil fertiliser treatment were P deficient, whereas P was adequate in the inorganic fertiliser treatment. There was no evidence of any other nutrient deficiency in plant shoot samples besides P. Therefore, it is suggested that on this P deficient soil, the ability of alum sludge to provide P for plant production was limited in the two years after application. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:46:19Z |
| format | Conference Paper |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-23021 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:46:19Z |
| publishDate | 2010 |
| publisher | Australian Water Association |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-230212017-01-30T12:34:58Z Agronomic Issues with Alum-Sludge Rigby, Hannah Pritchard, Deborah Collins, D. Diane Wiesner Alum Sludge phosphorus cereal A two year field experiment was established to investigate the use of alum sludge from wastewater treatment for cereal production. Alum sludge (5.0% N, 3.7% P, 7.5% Al) was applied at six rates (0, 3.4, 6.7, 10.1, 13.5 and 20.1 Mg DS ha-1) on a P deficient sand, supplying up to 744 kg P ha-1 at the highest rate. In addition, one rate of inorganic fertiliser at district practice was applied, containing 72 kg N ha-1 and 20 kg P ha-1, this was reapplied in the second year. The inorganic fertiliser treatment yielded 44-58% higher than the nil fertiliser treatment at final grain harvest, demonstrating the requirement for applied N and P on this site for crop production. Alum sludge was an adequate source of nitrogen (N) for crop growth as indicated by plant tissue N content, and supplied sufficient residual N to meet crop requirements in the second year.However, grain yield in alum sludge treatments was reduced to 62% (year 1) and 69% (year 2) of the yield in the inorganic fertiliser treatment, though greater than the nil fertiliser treatment in both years. Plant shoot tissue analysis at 9 weeks after establishment at the tillering stage of development indicated that plants sown in alum sludge-amended soil and in the nil fertiliser treatment were P deficient, whereas P was adequate in the inorganic fertiliser treatment. There was no evidence of any other nutrient deficiency in plant shoot samples besides P. Therefore, it is suggested that on this P deficient soil, the ability of alum sludge to provide P for plant production was limited in the two years after application. 2010 Conference Paper http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/23021 Australian Water Association fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Alum Sludge phosphorus cereal Rigby, Hannah Pritchard, Deborah Collins, D. Agronomic Issues with Alum-Sludge |
| title | Agronomic Issues with Alum-Sludge |
| title_full | Agronomic Issues with Alum-Sludge |
| title_fullStr | Agronomic Issues with Alum-Sludge |
| title_full_unstemmed | Agronomic Issues with Alum-Sludge |
| title_short | Agronomic Issues with Alum-Sludge |
| title_sort | agronomic issues with alum-sludge |
| topic | Alum Sludge phosphorus cereal |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/23021 |