Swine wastewater: Impacts on soil, plant, and leachate

Abstract

The use of animal-origin residues as a nutrient source without prior and proper investigations on their positive and negative impacts can affect the quality of agricultural soils and the environment into which they are inserted. In this sense, the aim of this study was to assess the impact of swine wastewater and mineral fertilization application on soil, soybean crop, and leachate characteristics. The experiment was developed in drainage lysimeters under field conditions. The following doses of swine wastewater were applied: 0, 100, 200, and 300 m3 ha-1, both with and without mineral fertilization. Swine wastewater application contributed to increasing soil nutrients; however, a special attention should be paid to Cu+ and Zn+ accumulation, which may interfere with soil quality in the long-term. In addition, Na+, K+, and N can be leached into groundwater and cause impacts on water quality. Wastewater supplied soybean crop requirements with some nutrients such as K+ and Zn2+, without the need for an additional mineral supplementation. Thus, once the above conditions are monitored, swine wastewater can be applied to soil.