IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jagris/v13y2023i2p257-d1042769.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Spent Coffee Grounds Applied as a Top-Dressing or Incorporated into the Soil Can Improve Plant Growth While Reducing Slug Herbivory

Author

Listed:
  • Finbarr G. Horgan

    (EcoLaVerna Integral Restoration Ecology, Bridestown, Kildinan, T56 P499 County Cork, Ireland
    Escuela de Agronomía, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales, Universidad Católica del Maule, Casilla 7-D, Curicó 3349001, Chile
    Centre for Pesticide Suicide Prevention, University/British Heart Foundation Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4TJ, UK)

  • Dylan Floyd

    (School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland)

  • Enrique A. Mundaca

    (Escuela de Agronomía, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales, Universidad Católica del Maule, Casilla 7-D, Curicó 3349001, Chile)

  • Eduardo Crisol-Martínez

    (EcoLaVerna Integral Restoration Ecology, Bridestown, Kildinan, T56 P499 County Cork, Ireland
    Escuela de Agronomía, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales, Universidad Católica del Maule, Casilla 7-D, Curicó 3349001, Chile
    COEXPHAL (Association of Vegetable and Fruit Growers of Almeria), Carretera de Ronda 11, 04004 Almeria, Spain)

Abstract

Between 8 and 15 million tons of spent coffee grounds (SCG) are produced as global waste each year. To reduce waste to landfill, SCG are proposed as a carbon and nutrient source for degraded soils. SCG contain caffeine and other toxins that inhibit plant growth. However, they also repel slugs and snails. We examined whether partial decomposition can neutralize SCG to promote plant growth while maintaining anti-herbivore properties. We aged SCG for <1 to 14 months and also produced SCG-derived Black Soldier Fly ( Hermetia illucens ) frass. The aged SCG and frass were applied, either incorporated into soil or as a 1 cm top-dressing, to pots with radish and tomato seedlings. SCG treatments were also examined for direct (repellent) and indirect (plant-mediated) effects on four slug species ( Arion ater , Deroceras laeve , Derocerus reticulatum and Lehmannia marginata ). SCG of ≤7 months inhibited plant growth and development and reduced herbivory when incorporated into soil, whereas 14-month-old SCG promoted growth but had no effect on herbivory. When applied as a top-dressing, SCG at 7 months promoted growth and reduced herbivory through repellent and host quality effects—including possible systemic effects. Our results indicate that the benefits of SCG for radish and tomato growth and to reduce slug herbivory can be achieved simultaneously by applying partially decomposed SCG (aged for up to 8 months) as a top-dressing.

Suggested Citation

  • Finbarr G. Horgan & Dylan Floyd & Enrique A. Mundaca & Eduardo Crisol-Martínez, 2023. "Spent Coffee Grounds Applied as a Top-Dressing or Incorporated into the Soil Can Improve Plant Growth While Reducing Slug Herbivory," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-21, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:2:p:257-:d:1042769
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/2/257/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/2/257/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Laurens Broeckx & Lotte Frooninckx & Laurien Slegers & Siebe Berrens & Isabelle Noyens & Sarah Goossens & Geert Verheyen & Ann Wuyts & Sabine Van Miert, 2021. "Growth of Black Soldier Fly Larvae Reared on Organic Side-Streams," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-20, November.
    2. Patrick Schroeder & Kartika Anggraeni & Uwe Weber, 2019. "The Relevance of Circular Economy Practices to the Sustainable Development Goals," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 23(1), pages 77-95, February.
    3. Robert G. Hollingsworth & John W. Armstrong & Earl Campbell, 2002. "Caffeine as a repellent for slugs and snails," Nature, Nature, vol. 417(6892), pages 915-916, June.
    4. Turek, Maria Eliza & Freitas, Karllas Stival & Armindo, Robson André, 2019. "Spent coffee grounds as organic amendment modify hydraulic properties in a sandy loam Brazilian soil," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 313-321.
    5. Mariangela Diacono & Alessandro Persiani & Elena Testani & Francesco Montemurro & Corrado Ciaccia, 2019. "Recycling Agricultural Wastes and By-products in Organic Farming: Biofertilizer Production, Yield Performance and Carbon Footprint Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-17, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pina Puntillo, 2023. "Circular economy business models: Towards achieving sustainable development goals in the waste management sector—Empirical evidence and theoretical implications," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 941-954, March.
    2. Muhammad Altaf & Wesam Salah Alaloul & Muhammad Ali Musarat & Abdul Hannan Qureshi, 2023. "Life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) of construction projects: sustainability perspective," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(11), pages 12071-12118, November.
    3. German Arana‐Landin & Waleska Sigüenza & Beñat Landeta‐Manzano & Iker Laskurain‐Iturbe, 2024. "Circular economy: On the road to ISO 59000 family of standards," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 1977-2009, May.
    4. Bruno Michel Roman Pais Seles & Janaina Mascarenhas & Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour & Adriana Hoffman Trevisan, 2022. "Smoothing the circular economy transition: The role of resources and capabilities enablers," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 1814-1837, May.
    5. Wei, Aiping & Zakari, Abdulrasheed & Tawiah, Vincent & Aleesa, Noha, 2024. "Cultivating resilient economies through responsible mineral resource trade: Does eco-resourcing rebate matter?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    6. Durán-Romero, Gemma & López, Ana M. & Beliaeva, Tatiana & Ferasso, Marcos & Garonne, Christophe & Jones, Paul, 2020. "Bridging the gap between circular economy and climate change mitigation policies through eco-innovations and Quintuple Helix Model," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    7. Toorajipour, Reza & Oghazi, Pejvak & Sohrabpour, Vahid & Patel, Pankaj C. & Mostaghel, Rana, 2022. "Block by block: A blockchain-based peer-to-peer business transaction for international trade," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    8. D. D’Amato, 2021. "Sustainability Narratives as Transformative Solution Pathways: Zooming in on the Circular Economy," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 231-242, June.
    9. Benedetta Cotta, 0. "What goes around, comes around? Access and allocation problems in Global North–South waste trade," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-15.
    10. Le Tran Thanh Liem & Yukihiro Tashiro & Pham Van Trong Tinh & Kenji Sakai, 2022. "Reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emission from Seedless Lime Cultivation Using Organic Fertilizer in a Province in Vietnam Mekong Delta Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-14, May.
    11. Carmen Ruiz-Puente & Daniel Jato-Espino, 2020. "Systemic Analysis of the Contributions of Co-Located Industrial Symbiosis to Achieve Sustainable Development in an Industrial Park in Northern Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-28, July.
    12. Milousi, Maria & Souliotis, Manolis, 2023. "A circular economy approach to residential solar thermal systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 242-252.
    13. Fabio A. Madau & Brunella Arru & Roberto Furesi & Pietro Pulina, 2020. "Insect Farming for Feed and Food Production from a Circular Business Model Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-15, July.
    14. Alessia Amato & Konstantina Tsigkou & Alessandro Becci & Francesca Beolchini & Nicolò M. Ippolito & Francesco Ferella, 2023. "Life Cycle Assessment of Biomethane vs. Fossil Methane Production and Supply," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-18, June.
    15. Alejandro Aristi Capetillo & Fredric Bauer & Cristina Chaminade, 2023. "Emerging Technologies Supporting the Transition to a Circular Economy in the Plastic Materials Value Chain," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 953-982, June.
    16. Abdulkarim Hasan Rashed & Afzal Shah, 2021. "The role of private sector in the implementation of sustainable development goals," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 2931-2948, March.
    17. Siebe Lievens & Giulia Poma & Lotte Frooninckx & Tom Van der Donck & Jin Won Seo & Jeroen De Smet & Adrian Covaci & Mik Van Der Borght, 2022. "Mutual Influence between Polyvinyl Chloride (Micro)Plastics and Black Soldier Fly Larvae ( Hermetia illucens L.)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-14, September.
    18. Sehrish Atif, 2023. "Mapping circular economy principles and servitisation approach in business model canvas: an integrated literature review," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 1-21, December.
    19. Thayla Zomer & Tim McAloone & Daniela Pigosso, 2024. "Categorization of manufacturing companies’ readiness profiles for the transition to the circular economy: A multidimensional cluster analysis," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 28(2), pages 277-288, April.
    20. Radu Lucian Pânzaru & Daniela Firoiu & George H. Ionescu & Andi Ciobanu & Dragoș Mihai Medelete & Ramona Pîrvu, 2023. "Organic Agriculture in the Context of 2030 Agenda Implementation in European Union Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-31, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:2:p:257-:d:1042769. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.