Determination of Properties of Loose and Granulated Organic Fertilizers and Qualitative Assessment of Fertilizer Spreading

Raimonda Zinkevičienė, Eglė Jotautienė, Algirdas Jasinskas, Zita Kriaučiūnienė, Kristina Lekavičienė, Vilma Naujokienė and Egidijus Šarauskis
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Raimonda Zinkevičienė: Department of Agricultural Engineering and Safety, Faculty of Engineering, Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, LT-53362 Akademija, Lithuania
Eglė Jotautienė: Department of Agricultural Engineering and Safety, Faculty of Engineering, Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, LT-53362 Akademija, Lithuania
Algirdas Jasinskas: Department of Agricultural Engineering and Safety, Faculty of Engineering, Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, LT-53362 Akademija, Lithuania
Zita Kriaučiūnienė: Department of Agroecosystems and Soil Sciences, Faculty of Agronomy, Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, LT-53361 Akademija, Lithuania
Kristina Lekavičienė: Department of Agricultural Engineering and Safety, Faculty of Engineering, Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, LT-53362 Akademija, Lithuania
Vilma Naujokienė: Department of Agricultural Engineering and Safety, Faculty of Engineering, Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, LT-53362 Akademija, Lithuania
Egidijus Šarauskis: Department of Agricultural Engineering and Safety, Faculty of Engineering, Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, LT-53362 Akademija, Lithuania

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-14

Abstract: Precise and environmentally friendly fertilization is one of the most effective agrotechnical measures to improve crop yield, crop quality, and environmental sustainability. The aim of this study was to determine the uniformity of spreading of organic fertilizers on the soil surface at different flows by evaluating the influence of the physical and mechanical properties of the fertilizers. The physical properties of organic fertilizers have been found to have a significant impact on the uniformity of fertilizer distribution. The investigation of fertilizer properties showed that the average moisture content of meat and bone meal granular fertilizers was 8.6 ± 0.2%, of cattle manure granular fertilizers—14.9 ± 1.5%, of dry lime—9.4 ± 0.1%, of wet lime—17.0 ± 1.1%, and of manure—66.7 ± 6.9%. It was found that the granules of cattle manure were more evenly spread on the soil surface (Gaussian coefficient 0.46) than the granules of meat and bone meal (g 2 = 7.11). At the same time, manure was found to be most evenly distributed on the soil when dry lime was spread more evenly than wet. Simultaneously, it was revealed that the physical properties of the fertilizer, such as higher moisture, lower mass, granule length, and width, affected the uniformity of fertilizer distribution on the soil surface.

Keywords: organic fertilizers; uniformity; granulated meat and bone meal; granulated cattle manure; lime; manure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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