Influence of Fly Ash, Organic Manures and Inorganic Fertilizers on Nutrient Uptake of Rice

Wood biomass fly ash ameliorates acidic, low-nutrient hydromorphic soil & reduces metal accumulation in maize

“…In comparison to some other, relatively more acidic fly ash types (pH 6.0-8.1) such as those derived from sulphur-enriched coal materials (Gupta et al, 2002;Sheeba and Theresa, 2020), biomass-derived ashes (e.g., characterised in the present study) are substantially more alkaline (Table S2). In the present study, given relatively low solubility of the tested ash in neutral media (i.e., only 22% in distilled water; Table S2), a prolonged alkaline impact of this material can be expected in natural environments, which is important in acidic and well-watered, even transiently waterlogged, soils prevalent across the agricultural area in eastern Croatia (these acidic hydromorphic soils occupy more than 1.62 Mha).…”

“…Similarly, Lee et al (2019) reported that rice tiller numbers at 56 days after transplanting decreased with fly ash addition at the rates of 5% w/w (by 15%) and 10% w/w (by 32%); at 101 days after transplanting root and grain dry matter decreased by 2.75-fold and 6.2-fold, respectively, at 10% w/w fly ash rate compared to the control soil. The previous field (Gupta et al, 2002;Ondrašek et al, 2018;Sheeba and Theresa, 2020) and controlled-environment (Gu et al, 2011;Seyfferth et al, 2019) studies documented how fly ash, and even bottom ash (derived from the same plant facility/combustion technology fuelled by hard wood chips, as fly ash used in the present study) (Ondrasek et al, 2020b) at modest application rates benefited agronomic properties and growth of cultivated crops. For instance, relatively low soil application of fly ash (5-10% w/w) enhanced seed germination and seedling growth, but excessive application rates (20-30% w/w) delayed or significantly inhibited plant growth and development (Singh et al, 1997).…”

“…The bioassay comprised relatively wide biomass fly ash dosages (equivalent to 0-100 t/ha) that were relevant, realistic and comparable with other ash-based studies, conducted in either controlled (Gu et al, 2011;Lee et al, 2019;Tosti et al, 2019) and/or field (Gu et al, 2011;Leclercq-Dransart et al, 2019;Sheeba and Theresa, 2020) conditions. Moreover, the highest application rate of fly ash was set at 10% w/w given the 8-10% w/w application rate of fly ash was confirmed to be the upper limit due to: i) potential ion (B, As and Ni) toxicity to test plants (Singh et al, 1997;Lee et al, 2019), ii) detrimental impact on seed germination and seedling growth (Singh et al, 1997) and/or iii) unfavourable metal (e.g.…”

Heavy metals content in ashes of wood pellets and the health risk assessment related to their presence in the environment

“…However, the ash produced from wood biomass is possible to apply in agriculture as soil fertilizer because of constituted nutrients and vital inorganic components such as C, O, H, Ca, K and, less frequently, N, S, Mg, P, Cl, Na, Mn, Zn, Fe, B, Cu or Mo. This application improves soil balance by providing a liming effect (alkaline pH) 6 , 7 . But, the pollution problem caused by ashes disposing is especially serious because they can contain high heavy metal concentrations 8 .…”