Food Waste Digestate as a Sustainable Fertilizer Strategy to Reduce Mineral Fertilizer Use in Maize Cultivation

Le résumé fourni par la source

Digestate is a by-product of the anaerobic digestion of food waste and can be used as a fertilizer for agricultural production. The partial replacement of mineral fertilizers with food waste digestate represents a promising strategy to improve soil fertility and enhance plant nutrition and growth. Therefore, this study evaluated the effects of dif-ferent proportions of digestate derived from the anaerobic digestion of food waste combined with mineral fertilization on soil fertility, growth, and nutritional status of maize (Zea mays L.) plants. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse using a completely randomized design with six treatments: unfertilized control (C0), 100% mineral fertilizer (M100), 75% mineral fertilizer + 25% digestate (M75D25), 50% min-eral fertilizer + 50% digestate (M50D50), 25% mineral fertilizer + 75% digestate (M25D75), and 100% digestate (D100), with four replicates. The M25D75 treatment significantly increased cation exchange capacity, base saturation, and pH, also result-ing in higher concentrations of P and Mg in the soil. Furthermore, this treatment pro-moted higher chlorophyll index, stem diameter, leaf number, plant height, and dry biomass, as well as increased plant concentrations of P, K, Ca, and Mg. In contrast, the exclusive application of digestate (D100) increased electrical conductivity, exchangea-ble sodium percentage, and sodium concentrations in both soil and plants, leading to reduced plant growth. Multivariate analysis confirmed the association of the M25D75 treatment with simultaneous improvements in soil fertility, plant nutrition, and plant growth. The combined application of mineral fertilizers and digestate improved soil fertility, plant nutrition, and plant growth, allowing up to 75% of the mineral fertilizer to be replaced by food waste digestate. These findings support the sustainable recycling of food waste through its agricultural use as digestate, contributing to circular nutrient management and reducing dependence on synthetic mineral fertilizers.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.