IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v13y2024i11p1820-d1512706.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Treating Tropical Soils with Composted Sewage Sludge Reduces the Mineral Fertilizer Requirements in Sugarcane Production

Author

Listed:
  • Rafael dos Santos Silva

    (Department of Plant Protection, Rural Engineering, and Soils, School of Engineering, São Paulo State University, Ilha Solteira 15385-000, SP, Brazil)

  • Marcelo Carvalho Minhoto Teixeira Filho

    (Department of Plant Protection, Rural Engineering, and Soils, School of Engineering, São Paulo State University, Ilha Solteira 15385-000, SP, Brazil)

  • Arshad Jalal

    (The BioActives Lab, Center for Desert Agriculture (CDA), Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia)

  • Rodrigo Silva Alves

    (Department of Soil Science, School of Agricultural and Veterinarian Sciences, São Paulo State University, Via de Acesso Prof. Paulo Donato Castellane s/n, Jaboticabal 14884-900, SP, Brazil)

  • Nathércia Castro Elias

    (Department of Soil Science, School of Agricultural and Veterinarian Sciences, São Paulo State University, Via de Acesso Prof. Paulo Donato Castellane s/n, Jaboticabal 14884-900, SP, Brazil)

  • Raimunda Eliane Nascimento do Nascimento

    (Department of Soil Science, School of Agricultural and Veterinarian Sciences, São Paulo State University, Via de Acesso Prof. Paulo Donato Castellane s/n, Jaboticabal 14884-900, SP, Brazil)

  • Cassio Hamilton Abreu-Junior

    (Center of Nuclear Energy in Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Av. Centenário n◦ 303, Piracicaba 13416-000, SP, Brazil)

  • Arun Dilipkumar Jani

    (Department of Biology and Chemistry, California State University, Monterey Bay, Seaside, CA 93955, USA)

  • Gian Franco Capra

    (Dipartimento di Architettura, Design e Urbanistica, Università di Sassari, Via Piandanna 4, 07100 Sassari, Italy)

  • Thiago Assis Rodrigues Nogueira

    (Department of Plant Protection, Rural Engineering, and Soils, School of Engineering, São Paulo State University, Ilha Solteira 15385-000, SP, Brazil
    Department of Soil Science, School of Agricultural and Veterinarian Sciences, São Paulo State University, Via de Acesso Prof. Paulo Donato Castellane s/n, Jaboticabal 14884-900, SP, Brazil)

Abstract

Conventional mineral fertilization (CMF) is a common practice in infertile sugarcane-cultivated tropical soils, increasing production costs and environmental concerns. Combining CMF with composted sewage sludge (CSS) could be a sustainable strategy. We aim to evaluate changes in soil chemical properties, macro- and micronutrient concentrations in the soil surface (A p1 ; 0–25 cm) and subsurface (A p2 ; 25–50 cm) horizons, after CSS application with or without CMF in sugarcane cultivation (first and second ratoon cane). Eleven treatments, featured by CSS increase rates and mixed with CMF at different concentrations, were tested in the first ratoon; during the second, the CSS residual effect was evaluated. Applying CSS in sugarcane-cultivated soils, improved the following: ( i ) soil organic matter, pH, the sum of bases, cation-exchange capacity, and base saturation; ( ii ) overall nutrient concentrations (P, K, Ca, Mg, B, Cu, and Zn). The treatments showing the best performances were those with 5.0 Mg ha −1 of CSS. Composted sewage sludge has the potential for use as an organic natural fertilizer reducing the need for CMF. When applied in infertile tropical soils, additional positive effects can be achieved, such as decreasing production costs and providing socio-economic benefits.

Suggested Citation

  • Rafael dos Santos Silva & Marcelo Carvalho Minhoto Teixeira Filho & Arshad Jalal & Rodrigo Silva Alves & Nathércia Castro Elias & Raimunda Eliane Nascimento do Nascimento & Cassio Hamilton Abreu-Junio, 2024. "Treating Tropical Soils with Composted Sewage Sludge Reduces the Mineral Fertilizer Requirements in Sugarcane Production," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-18, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:11:p:1820-:d:1512706
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/11/1820/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/11/1820/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    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:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:11:p:1820-:d:1512706. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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.