Date of Graduation

12-2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences

Advisor/Mentor

Brye, Kristofor

Committee Member/Reader

Miller, David

Committee Member/Second Reader

Wood, Lisa

Abstract

The ability to recycle phosphorus (P) from wastewaters could provide a sustainable, continuous source of P that might also help protect surface water quality from P enrichment. The mineral struvite (MgNH4PO4·6H2O) is an understudied material that can be created from Pcontaining wastewater and has been shown to have agricultural fertilizer value. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of electrochemically precipitated struvite (ECST), chemically precipitated struvite (Crystal Green; CG), diammonium phosphate (DAP), monoammonium phosphate (MAP), rock phosphate (RP), and triple super phosphate (TSP) on corn (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max) response in a 79-day greenhouse pot study. The effects of fertilizer treatment (i.e., ECST, CG, TSP, MAP, DAP, RP, No P/+N, and No P/-N) on select plant and soil properties were evaluated separately by crop (i.e., soybean and corn). Results demonstrated that when a crop response to P fertilization was expected, there were differences in degree of plant response depending on fertilizer-P source. Although soybean plant properties were not, corn plant properties and corn and soybean elemental tissue concentrations differed (P < 0.05) among fertilizer amendments. Total corn dry matter from ECST did not differ from that from RP and TSP and was 1.2 times greater than that from CG. Belowground corn dry matter from ECST was 1.9 times greater than that from CG, TSP, DAP, No P/+N, and No P/-N. Corn cob-plus-husk dry matter from CG and ECST were similar. Corn belowground tissue P concentration from CG did not differ from that from DAP, TSP, and MAP and was 1.4 times larger than that from ECST. Corn cob-plus-husk tissue P concentration from ECST was similar to that from MAP and DAP and was 1.2 times larger than that from CG. Corn stem-plus-leaves tissue P concentration from ECST differed from that from all other treatments and was 1.8 times greater than that from the No P/+N control. Results generated from this study not only provide information on the understudied electrochemically precipitated struvite, but also further reasons why more research should be conducted on not only the implementation of struvite as a fertilizer-P source, but also struvite's potential impact on sustainable food production and the preservation of water resources.

Keywords

Electrochemically precipitated struvite, Chemically precipitated struvite, Phosphorus, Corn plant response, Soybean plant response, Greenhouse potted-plant study, Wastewater-recycled fertilizer

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