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The manurial value of sewage sludge applied to fen peat soils

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

Siân E. Dawson
Siân E. Dawson
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Biology, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3DX
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Summary

Previous research has shown that sewage sludge can act as a source of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizer. Fen peat soils are organic soils derived from plant material and are known to differ from mineral soils in their plant-nutrient availability. The work reported in this paper compares the effects of liquid digested, liquid raw and dewatered digested sludge with inorganic nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers on a typical fenland rotation of winter wheat, sugar beet and potatoes.

It is concluded that sludge can replace inorganic nitrogen and phosphate fertilizer on fen soil, and it appears that applications of sludge containing large amounts of fresh organic matter can act as a soil conditioner and produce higher yields than can be obtained from the use of fertilizer alone.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 108 , Issue 3 , June 1987 , pp. 523 - 528
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1987

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