Search

Foliar fertilization makes it possible to quickly supply plants with deficient nutrients, in case of both their deficiency in the soil and hindered uptake. Crops are characterized by varying nutrient requirements for micronutrients, as well as varying sensitivity to their deficiency. The paper presents practical aspects of the foliar feeding of plants with micronutrients using foliar fertilizers, and their general classification and characteristics. The requirements of basic crops (cereals, rapeseed and corn) for the application of micronutrient fertilization and the degree of their sensitivity to micronutrient deficiency were characterized. The market of foliar fertilizers and the directions of its development were evaluated. The possibilities of foliar fertilizers containing amino acids and silicon, and the possibility of using them for biofortification are presented. It was found that foliar fertilization is one of the most popular and effective methods for the biofortification of plants, as it allows the delivery of the right amount of specific elements in a specific stage of plant development and is thus an economical and environmentally safe procedure. In conclusion, the analysis of the foliar fertilizer market shows that its development is very dynamic, and foliar fertilization is becoming one of the basic elements in effective crop production. Further expansion of the range of foliar fertilizers produced should be expected in accordance with the growing expectations of agricultural producers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work new universal bench-scale plant for biosorption, useful in production of new micronutrient biocomponents, was described. The new installation enabling working in a fixed bed or stirred tank batch mode. Reactors may also be used in serial or parallel mode, which gives many application possibilities. Copper ions were selected as a sorbate for kinetic modelling. The results of the adsorption capacities of Cu(II) were 13.9 mg/g for fixed bed and 12.8 mg/g for stirred tank. During biosorption of Cu(II) ions from aqueous solution ion exchange and release of Ca(II), K(I), Mg(II), and Na(I) were observed. For kinetics description of stirred tank process pseudo-1st-and pseudo-2nd order models were used. For fixed bed process the Thomas, Yoon-Nelson, Adams-Bohart and Wolborska models were used. The use of blackcurrant seed residues as biosorbents enables the generation of new products from waste biomass, which can become an alternative to the traditional fertilizers with microelements. The presented technology is an attempt to reduce environmental impact of the conventional micronutrient fertilizers, which contain toxic chelators such as EDTA. Minimization of waste and maximization of product output makes it an efficient tool supporting cleaner production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND This paper details the results of solubilization of phosphates in spent mushroom substrate ( SMS). As a substrate for the process, bones as a source of phosphates and SMS as medium were used. RESULTS The process was conducted for 9 months and at the end of the process the substrate obtained was characterized as having a two times higher amount of available phosphorus (express as P2O5), which was confirmed by FTIR and SEM-EDX analysis. A decrease in pH was observed. Strong correlation was found between temperature and the effectiveness of the process ( P=0.000, r = 0.772). Solubilization combined with the degradation process lowered the C/N ratio from 13.6:1 to 11.7:1. The utilitarian properties of the substrate obtained were evaluated in germination tests. CONCLUSION The substrate obtained was characterized as having two times more available phosphorus and can serve as a biofertilizer for the cultivation of plants. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing amount of bio-waste creates the need to develop a method for efficient management based on processes that are more environmentally friendly than incineration and composting. This research aimed to utilize the waste of raspberry seeds after supercritical CO2 extraction. The biomass was enriched with micronutrients by the biosorption process to prepare micronutrient fertilizers for organic farming and biofortification of raspberries fruits. It was observed that at 100% dose of micronutrients, raspberry crop yield increased by 3%, and transfer of micronutrients to fruit biomass increased by 4.7%, 6.4%, and 8.8% (Cu, Mn, Zn, respectively) compared to commercial fertilizer. The supply of micronutrients at a dose of 150% led to a significant increase in micronutrient content of 3%, 41%, and 8% (Cu, Mn, and Zn, respectively) compared to commercial fertilizer. Research shows that the application of higher doses of micronutrients leads to the enrichment of edible parts of fruits, and fertilizers ensure environmental safety. The fruits contained on average 11.5% more microelements compared to the groups fertilized with the commercial product. The fruit yield (9.09–10.4 Mg per hectare) and the sugar content (9.82–10.2%) were also the highest. The micronutrients released from fertilizers and available to plants throughout the vegetation period affect the increase in yield, especially in the case of plants fruiting several times a year. [Display omitted] • Biosorption as a waste biomass valorization method. • Micronutrient fertilizers obtained by biosorption affect the increase in yield by 3%. • Biomass-bound micronutrients show greater bioavailability than inorganic salts. • The new fertilizer increased the micronutrient content in raspberry fruit by 11.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new approach for micronutrient fertilizer biocomponent production based on blackcurrant seeds is presented. Blackcurrant seeds constitute a by-product from the production of jellies, jams, and juices. New environmental-friendly fertilizers with micronutrients were produced in the pilot plant as alternative sustainable fertilizers to conventional options. Post-extraction residues, obtained after supercritical CO2 extraction was conducted on blackcurrant seeds, were used. In each process, 15 kg of biosorbent was used. Good sorption capacity was achieved (6.48 mg/g for Zn(II), 13.9 mg/g for Cu(II) and 5.88 mg/g for Mn (II)). The adsorption kinetics was described using different kinetic models; the most suitable were the Nelson-Yoon and Thomas models. The new preparation has application-friendly form (micro-granules) and is nontoxic. For a dose of 2.5 kg of zinc, 1 kg of manganese, and 0.5 kg of copper per hectare (often used in vegetable fertilization), approximately 600 kg of mixed end product is required. The cost of fertilization with current scale technology will be about four times higher than that of conventional technology (including depreciation of equipment), but with process scale-up, it is possible to reduce costs even twice over. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a pilot-plant for the biosorption and the technology of the production of micronutrient fertilizer components that are based on spent mushroom substrate with a qualitative and a quantitative description as well as an economic analysis thereof. The biomass was enriched with zinc and manganese ions, which resulted in good biosorption capacities: −15.84 and 11.81 mg/g for Zn(II) and Mn(II), respectively. Material losses were/material loss was relatively low (about 10%). The efficiency of the system was over 100 kg of micronutrient component per day and the price of the new preparation was estimated at $4.76 per kg including labor costs and depreciation of the installation. The pilot-plant for biosorption was shown to be an efficient method for the production of new preparations based on waste biomass and constituting an alternative to conventional micronutrient fertilizers. The economic analysis of the system and the production of new preparations shows that it is also a technology which does not require high investment and operation costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper, the novel environmentally friendly micronutrient fertilizer biocomponents produced via biosorption and based on the biomass of seaweed were introduced. The utilitarian properties of new preparations were examined in germination tests on Lepidium sativum. The application of micronutrient biocomponents with zinc resulted in the higher mass of plant and higher content of zinc in comparison with the untreated group and reference materials, leading to the biofortification of plants with this micronutrient (a more than 20-fold increase in zinc level was obtained). It was observed that the dosage of zinc influenced plant mass and element content of plants. Statistically significant correlations between zinc and other microand macronutrients were observed. Also, a strong positive correlation (0.55) between zinc and plant mass was found. The micronutrient biocomponents produced via the biosorption process can constitute an alternative tool for micronutrient fertilization as preparations characterized by high bioavailability of nutrients and high biodegradability constituting an "eco-friendly" method for micronutrient biofortification of plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spent mushroom substrate (SMS) is a noxious byproduct of the mushroom industry. The aim of this work was to convert SMS into organicmineral micronutrient (Zn(II), Mn(II), and Cu(II)) fertilizer via biosorption and examine the effect of its application in field tests on maize compared to commercial reference micronutrient fertilizer. Crop yield and crop quality were assessed, and multielemental analysis of grains was conducted for the evaluation of the fertilization effect on maize grains and to assess bioavailability of nutrients from fertilizers. Grain yield for maize treated with micronutrients delivered with SMS was noticeably higher (11.5%) than the untreated group and the NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) fertilizer treated only group (2.8%). Bioavailability (TF) of micronutrients from SMS were comparable with reference micronutrient fertilizer (7% Zn, 4% Mn, and 2.3% Cu). The new product has the potential to be used as a micronutrient fertilizer. Satisfactory results of grain yield (6.4 Mg ha-1), high content of micronutrients (Zn 1.6%, Mn 1.2%, and Cu 1.8%), and macronutrients (P 1.0%, S 3.1%, Ca 8.2%, and K 0.2%) were observed. The bioavailability suggests that enriched SMS could be a good alternative to fertilizers in the present market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a method of recalculation of results of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technique to Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) method was elaborated for biosorption studies. Equations that calibrate XRF to ICP-OES were determined, as a biosorbent strawberry, blackcurrant and raspberry seeds after supercritical CO2 extraction were used. ICP-OES showed a better precision and lower detection limits than XRF. The latter technique is cheaper, requires minimal sample preparation and gives faster results. Linear regression of the data gave almost 1:1 correlations without additional correction (for Cu r2 = 0.9998, Mn r2 = 0.807, Zn r2 = 0.979). Calibration and quantification of intensities of XRF was obtained using ICP-OES measurements after samples digestion with HNO3 in a microwave system. High positive correlations were estimated for Cu, Mn, Zn. It was demonstrated that XRF technique can be used together with other well established techniques (ICP-OES) to produce quantitative data from biosorption studies. Elaboration of cheap and quick analytical methodology is an important aspect in development of new processes and products based on biosorption process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]