•  
  •  
 

Keywords

rice, struvite, fertilizer

Abstract

Wastewater-recovered phosphorus (P), in the form of the mineral struvite (MgNH4PO4∙6H2O), may provide a sustainable alternative to decreasing rock-phosphate reserves. Struvite can be generated via precipitation methods, potentially reducing the amount of P runoff to aquatic ecosystems. The objective of this greenhouse tub study was to evaluate the effects of chemically and electrochemically precipitated struvite (CPST and ECST, respectively) on aboveground plant response in a hybrid rice cultivar grown using furrow-irrigation compared to other common fertilizer-P sources [i.e., triple super phosphate (TSP) and diammonium phosphate (DAP)] using three replications of fertilizer treatment in a P-deficient silt loam (Typic Glossaqualfs). Aboveground rice dry matter (DM), aboveground DM P uptake, grain yield, and grain P uptake from CPST and ECST did not differ from DAP or TSP. However, aboveground DM P concentration was numerically largest (P < 0.05) from TSP (0.05 %), which did not differ from DAP, and was at least 2.5 times larger than that from ECST, CPST, and the unamended control (UC). Similar rice responses among struvite and other common fertilizer-P sources suggest CPST and ECST are both possible alternative fertilizer-P sources that warrant further research into struvite’s role in food production and water quality restoration and preservation.

Share

COinS