Articles
Optimising organic cranberry nitrogen nutrition through the formulation of biofertiliser with fast mineralisation rate
Article number
1440_74
Pages
543 – 550
Language
English
Abstract
Better nitrogen nutrition is critical to further increase organic cranberry yields.
In conventional agriculture, periodical ammonium sulfate amendments provide spikes of available ammonium in the soil.
In organic agriculture, there is no ideal biofertiliser that can mimic this behavior since available organic matters do not mineralise fast enough to release ammonium at such precisely targeted periods.
Currently, poultry manure is the most useful biofertiliser, but its mineralisation extends over the season, which was identified to limit organic cranberry yields.
Aside from this, insect farming is an emerging industry that can play a crucial role by upcycling food wastes into a protein-rich food.
From this bioprocess, the frass, made of insect faeces, exuvial material, and undigested feed, is a valuable co-product that can be used for both fertilisation and biostimulation properties.
In this research, the effects of different biofertiliser formulations on nitrogen mineralisation dynamics and its impact on cranberry phenotype has been studied.
Briefly, the experiments show that most of the poultry manure content can be easily mineralised but has a poorly active mineralising microbiota, whereas frass, while having an active microbiota, has a less easily digestible organic nitrogen fraction.
Combining them induces a synergetic effect on mineralisation rate, and the ratio of 10% frass NDASH 90% poultry manure seems to optimise this synergetic effect.
The same treatment increased up to 30% the cranberry yield compared to the reference poultry manure fertilisation.
The next steps will consist in adjusting the application rates of this new biofertiliser that differ from poultry manure application rates.
Given the mineralisation kinetics and mineralised nitrogen levels, best cranberry yields are expected with a low fertilisation strategy.
In conventional agriculture, periodical ammonium sulfate amendments provide spikes of available ammonium in the soil.
In organic agriculture, there is no ideal biofertiliser that can mimic this behavior since available organic matters do not mineralise fast enough to release ammonium at such precisely targeted periods.
Currently, poultry manure is the most useful biofertiliser, but its mineralisation extends over the season, which was identified to limit organic cranberry yields.
Aside from this, insect farming is an emerging industry that can play a crucial role by upcycling food wastes into a protein-rich food.
From this bioprocess, the frass, made of insect faeces, exuvial material, and undigested feed, is a valuable co-product that can be used for both fertilisation and biostimulation properties.
In this research, the effects of different biofertiliser formulations on nitrogen mineralisation dynamics and its impact on cranberry phenotype has been studied.
Briefly, the experiments show that most of the poultry manure content can be easily mineralised but has a poorly active mineralising microbiota, whereas frass, while having an active microbiota, has a less easily digestible organic nitrogen fraction.
Combining them induces a synergetic effect on mineralisation rate, and the ratio of 10% frass NDASH 90% poultry manure seems to optimise this synergetic effect.
The same treatment increased up to 30% the cranberry yield compared to the reference poultry manure fertilisation.
The next steps will consist in adjusting the application rates of this new biofertiliser that differ from poultry manure application rates.
Given the mineralisation kinetics and mineralised nitrogen levels, best cranberry yields are expected with a low fertilisation strategy.
Publication
Authors
J. Passicousset, C. Chervier-Legourd, D. Gilbert, D. Labarre, K. Bouchard, C. Dionne, S.F. Lange
Keywords
black soldier fly frass, poultry manure, yields, inoculation, synergy, fruit quality, ammonification
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