Seaweed compost for agricultural crop production

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Abstract: 

This study manipulated the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C:N) of seaweed composts by varying the proportion of high N green seaweed (Ulva ohnoi) and high C sugarcane bagasse to assess their quality and suitability for use in agricultural crop production. Seaweed-bagasse mixes that had an initial C:N ratio greater than 18:1 (up to 50:1) could be transformed into a mature compost within 16 weeks. However, only composts with a high seaweed content and therefore low initial C:N (18 and 22:1) supported a consistently high rate of plant growth, even at low application rates. Sugarcane grown in these high seaweed composts had a 7-fold higher total above-ground biomass than low seaweed composts and a 4- fold higher total above-ground biomass than sugarcane grown in commercial compost that did not contain seaweed. Overall, the optimal initial C:N ratio for seaweed-based compost was 22:1 which corresponds to 82 % seaweed on a fresh weight basis. This ratio will produce a high quality mature compost whilst also ensuring that a high proportion of the nitrogen (>90 %) in the Ulva biomass is retained through the composting process.

Author(s): 
Andrew J. Cole
David A. Roberts
Alan L. Garside
Rocky de Nys
Nicholas A. Paul
Keywords: 
Macroalgae
Phosphorous
Nitrogen
Agriculture
Salt
Electrical conductivity
Link / Ref: 
SpringerLink
Attachment: 
PDF icon Seaweed compost for agricultural crop production.pdf
Article Source: 
J Appl Phycol (2016) 28:629–642
Category: 
Basic Biology
Seaweed composition