Management and Reduction of Chemical Nitrogen Consumption in Agriculture

Abstract

Nitrogen is an effective material for improving the crop production. There is a big concern about rising chemical nitrogen usage as fertilizer in soil, because some forms of nitrogen absorbs in soil and causes an increase of environment and water pollution and decrease fertilizer efficiency. Composted cow manure is an important resource of organic nitrogen which improves the soil conditions. However, low density of composted cow manure and inconstant nutrient content are two factors that limit the application of composted cow manure. The densification technology is an effective solution for both problems. In this research first the capability of single screw extruder for production of fertilizer pellets including composted cow manure and nitrogen fertilizer was studied and then the effect of fertilizer pellet on the reduction of chemical nitrogen consumption was evaluated. The response of basil plants was determined in three treatments: T 1 control (no fertilizer), T 2 (nitrogen fertilizer) and T 3 (pellet). The results showed that pelletization can be used as a proper method for slow-release nitrogen fertilizer; enhance nitrogen uptake and reducing the chemical nitrogen consumption. The results also showed that all basil responses (chlorophyll content, total weight, leaves weight, root weight and leaf area) were significantly affected by application of N fertilizer and pellet. While maximum recorded parameters were observed with application pellet.