Abstract
Anaerobic digestate is a valuable resource for horticultural production, as it contains nutrients and fibers that can be used in plant growing medium. However, compared with hydroponic production based on mineral fertilizers, obtaining accurate nutrient supply at each stage of the growth cycle may be challenging. In an experiment using container-grown tomato crops, we evaluated different fertilization regimes with solid anaerobic digestate (SAD). Four different treatments were compared, two involving different proportions (19 % and 37 % by volume) of SADs in the peat-based growing medium, one treatment where growing medium with 37 % SAD was inoculated with active nitrifying bacteria, and one treatment where 15 % (v/v) of the peat in growing medium with 37 % SAD was replaced with sawdust to control nitrogen (N) availability during cultivation. A mineral-fertilized treatment (N-P-K 5–1-5) with approximately similar N amount as in the treatment with 37 % SAD was used as reference. Nutrient availability, nutrient uptake efficiency, crop performance (plant growth, biomass accumulation), and plant stress (chlorophyll fluorescence) were monitored during cultivation. The concentration of ammonium was initially high (190–416 mg/L substrate) in the growing media fertilized with anaerobic digestate, while the concentration of nitrate was low. Readily available ammonium concentration decreased rapidly during cultivation, to around 50 % after 10 days and to almost 100 % by the end of the cultivation. Available nitrate concentration was initially low (0–8 mg/L in the different treatments) and decreased to zero within a week, but increased slightly from day 40 of cultivation. Nutrient use efficiency was generally higher (15–50 % for different nutrients) in the treatment with 19 % digestate. Inclusion of sawdust in the growing medium decreased nutrient use efficiency by 30–50 %. Compared with the mineral-fertilizer reference, biomass production was lower in all treatments fertilized with digestate, with 37 % and 19 % SAD resulting in 62 % and 47 % of total biomass obtained in the reference, and similar reductions in yield of harvestable fruits. Chlorophyll fluorescence measurements indicated elevated plant stress in the treatments fertilized with SAD. Addition of sawdust or nitrifying bacteria did not help to control nitrogen availability during cultivation. Therefore, anaerobic digestate fertilizers need further optimization before they can be a competitive alternative to mineral fertilizers.
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Claims 15
Claim · model-written summary
Digestate media initially had high ammonium concentrations.
- Taxon
- tomato
Solanum lycopersicumt0 - Treatment
- anaerobic digestatee0
- Outcome
- concentration of ammoniume0
- Direction
- highe0
- Value
- 190–416 mg/L substratee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The concentration of ammonium was initially high (190–416 mg/L substrate) in the growing media fertilized with anaerobic digestate”
t0“tomato crops”
Claim · model-written summary
Digestate media initially had low nitrate concentrations.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- anaerobic digestatee1
- Outcome
- concentration of nitratee0
- Direction
- lowe0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“while the concentration of nitrate was low.”
e1“growing media fertilized with anaerobic digestate”
t0“tomato crops”
Claim · model-written summary
Available ammonium declined to about half after ten days and nearly completely by the end of cultivation.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Outcome
- Readily available ammonium concentratione0
- Direction
- decreasede0
- Value
- around 50 % after 10 days and to almost 100 % by the end of the cultivatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Readily available ammonium concentration decreased rapidly during cultivation, to around 50 % after 10 days and to almost 100 % by the end of the cultivation.”
t0“tomato crops”
Claim · model-written summary
Available nitrate began at 0–8 mg/L across treatments.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Outcome
- Available nitrate concentratione0
- Direction
- lowe0
- Value
- 0–8 mg/Le0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Available nitrate concentration was initially low (0–8 mg/L in the different treatments)”
t0“tomato crops”
Claim · model-written summary
Available nitrate fell to zero within a week.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Outcome
- Available nitrate concentratione1
- Direction
- decreasede0
- Value
- zero within a weeke0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“decreased to zero within a week”
e1“Available nitrate concentration was initially low”
t0“tomato crops”
Claim · model-written summary
Available nitrate increased slightly from day 40.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Outcome
- Available nitrate concentratione1
- Direction
- increasede0
- Qualifier
- day 40 of cultivatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“increased slightly from day 40 of cultivation”
e1“Available nitrate concentration was initially low”
t0“tomato crops”
Claim · model-written summary
Nutrient use efficiency was generally higher with 19 % digestate.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- 19 % digestatee0
- Outcome
- Nutrient use efficiencye0
- Direction
- highere0
- Value
- 15–50 %e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Nutrient use efficiency was generally higher (15–50 % for different nutrients) in the treatment with 19 % digestate.”
t0“tomato crops”
Claim · model-written summary
Sawdust inclusion reduced nutrient use efficiency by 30–50 %.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- Inclusion of sawduste0
- Outcome
- nutrient use efficiencye0
- Direction
- decreasede0
- Value
- 30–50 %e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Inclusion of sawdust in the growing medium decreased nutrient use efficiency by 30–50 %.”
t0“tomato crops”
Claim · model-written summary
Tomato biomass with 37 % SAD was 62 % of the mineral fertilizer reference.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- 37 %e0
- Outcome
- biomass productione0
- Direction
- lowere0
- Value
- 62 %e0
- Comparator
- mineral-fertilizer referencee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Compared with the mineral-fertilizer reference, biomass production was lower in all treatments fertilized with digestate, with 37 % and 19 % SAD resulting in 62 % and 47 % of total biomass obtained in the reference”
t0“tomato crops”
Claim · model-written summary
Tomato biomass with 19 % SAD was 47 % of the mineral fertilizer reference.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- 19 %e0
- Outcome
- biomass productione0
- Direction
- lowere0
- Value
- 47 %e0
- Comparator
- mineral-fertilizer referencee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Compared with the mineral-fertilizer reference, biomass production was lower in all treatments fertilized with digestate, with 37 % and 19 % SAD resulting in 62 % and 47 % of total biomass obtained in the reference”
t0“tomato crops”
Claim · model-written summary
Harvestable fruit yield was similarly reduced in digestate treatments versus the reference.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- digestatee1
- Outcome
- yield of harvestable fruitse0
- Direction
- reductionse0
- Comparator
- mineral-fertilizer referencee1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“similar reductions in yield of harvestable fruits.”
e1“Compared with the mineral-fertilizer reference, biomass production was lower in all treatments fertilized with digestate”
t0“tomato crops”
Claim · model-written summary
Chlorophyll fluorescence indicated elevated plant stress with SAD fertilization.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- SADe0
- Outcome
- plant stresse0
- Direction
- elevatede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Chlorophyll fluorescence measurements indicated elevated plant stress in the treatments fertilized with SAD.”
t0“tomato crops”
Claim · model-written summary
Sawdust addition did not help control nitrogen availability during cultivation.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- sawduste0
- Outcome
- nitrogen availabilitye0
- Direction
- did not helpe0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Addition of sawdust or nitrifying bacteria did not help to control nitrogen availability during cultivation.”
t0“tomato crops”
Claim · model-written summary
Nitrifying bacteria addition did not help control nitrogen availability during cultivation.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- nitrifying bacteriae0
- Interactor
- nitrifying bacteriae0other
- Outcome
- nitrogen availabilitye0
- Direction
- did not helpe0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Addition of sawdust or nitrifying bacteria did not help to control nitrogen availability during cultivation.”
t0“tomato crops”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors recommend further optimization of anaerobic digestate fertilizers before competing with mineral fertilizers.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Outcome
- further optimizatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Therefore, anaerobic digestate fertilizers need further optimization before they can be a competitive alternative to mineral fertilizers.”
t0“tomato crops”
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