Human urine was used as a fertilizer in cabbage cultivation and compared with industrial fertilizer and nonfertilizer treatments. Urine achieved equal fertilizer value to industrial fertilizer when both were used at a dose of 180 kg N/ha. Growth, biomass, and levels of chloride were slightly higher in urine-fertilized cabbage than with industrial-fertilized cabbage but clearly differed from nonfertilized. Insect damage was lower in urine-fertilized than in industrial-fertilized plots but more extensive than in nonfertilized plots. Microbiological quality of urine-fertilized cabbage and sauerkraut made from the cabbage was similar to that in the other fertilized cabbages. Furthermore, the level of glucosinolates and the taste of sauerkrauts were similar in cabbages from all three fertilization treatments. Our results show that human urine could be used as a fertilizer for cabbage and does not pose any significant hygienic threats or leave any distinctive flavor in food products.

This study evaluates the use of human urine and wood ash as fertilizers for tomato cultivation in a greenhouse. Tomatoes were cultivated in pots and treated with 135 kg of N/ha applied as mineral fertilizer, urine + ash, urine only, and control (no fertilization). The urine fertilized plants produced equal amounts of tomato fruits as mineral fertilized plants and 4.2 times more fruits than nonfertilized plants. The levels of lycopene were similar in tomato fruits from all fertilization treatments, but the amount of soluble sugars was lower and Cl(-) was higher in urine + ash fertilized tomato fruits. The beta-carotene content was greater and the NO(3)(-) content was lower in urine fertilized tomato fruits. No enteric indicator microorganisms were detected in any tomato fruits. The results suggest that urine with/without wood ash can be used as a substitute for mineral fertilizer to increase the yields of tomato without posing any microbial or chemical risks.

Aims:  The survival of Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, Enterococcus faecalis and coliphage MS2 was studied in stored, fresh and diluted (1 : 1) human urine at 15 and 30°C. Methods and Results:  Survival rate was studied by the plate count method. All the organisms showed rapid inactivation in stored urine, but they survived better in diluted and fresh urine. The high pH level and temperature were the major factors found to influence the survival of the micro‐organisms with the survival rate being higher at 15°C than at 30°C. Conclusions:  The destruction of all micro‐organisms in stored urine required <1 week at 30°C. Thus, the storage of urine is a useful way to reduce the risk of contamination while using urine as a fertilizer. Significance and Impact of the Study:  The urine fertilization is aimed for the developing countries and the high temperatures in these countries may hasten the destruction of micro‐organisms in urine. On the contrary, a higher survival rate of these organisms in fresh and diluted urine is a public health concern because the dilution of urine with water is likely to happen during flushing.

Human urine contains significant amounts of N (nitrogen) and P (phosphorus); therefore it has been successfully used as fertilizer in different crops. But the use of urine as fertilizer has several constraints, such as, the high cost of transportation, an unpleasant smell, the risk of pathogens, and pharmaceutical residue. A combined and improved N stripping and P precipitation technique is used in this study. In this technique, Ca(OH) is used to increase the pH of urine which converts ammonium into ammonia gas and precipitate P as Ca-P compound. The ammonia gas is stripped and passed into the sulfuric acid where ammonium sulfate and hydrogen triammonium disulfate is formed. The experiment was performed using 700 mL of urine and the pH of the urine was increased above 12. Our results showed that 85-99% of N and 99% of P (w/w) can be harvested from urine in 28 h at 40 °C and in 32 h at 30 °C. The harvested N (13% N w/w) and P (1.5% P w/w) can be used as mineral fertilizer. The economic assessment of the technique showed that the extraction of N and P from 1 m of pure urine can make a profit of €2.25.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of human urine and wood ash fertilization on the yield and quality of red beet by measuring the microbial, nutrient, and antioxidant (betanin) content of the roots. Red beets were fertilized with 133 kg of N/ha as mineral fertilizer, urine and ash, and only urine with no fertilizer as a control. The mineral-fertilized plants and urine- and ash-fertilized plants also received 89 kg of P/ha. Urine and ash and only urine fertilizer produced 1720 and 656 kg/ha more root biomass, respectively, versus what was obtained from the mineral fertilizer. Few fecal coliforms and coliphage were detected in mineral-fertilized and urine- and ash-fertilized red beet roots. The protein and betanin contents in red beet roots were similar in all treatments. In conclusion, this study revealed that urine with or without ash can increase the yield of red beet and furthermore the microbial quality and chemical quality were similar to the situation in mineral-fertilized products.