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Utilization of Industrial Fermentation Residues for Turfgrass Production¹

ABSTRACT

Fermentation residues are formed during the production of antibiotics and organic acids. If these residues are to be applied to agricultural land, information concerning nitrogen availability, crop response, and possible toxicity is needed so that appropriate application rates can be determined. Wastes were applied to an Enfield silt loam soil (coarse-silty over sandy-skeletal, mixed mesic, Typic Dystrochrept) at rates of 0, 112, and 224 dry metric tons/ha, which provided 0, 2,778 or 5,556 kg N/ha, respectively. Additional plots received 24 or 48 kg N/ha per month as NH₄NO₃ from May through October of each year for comparison purposes. All plots were seeded with a mixture of 60% Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L. cv. Merion), 20% perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L. cv. Manhattan), and 20% Chewings fescue (Festuca rubra ssp. commutata Gaud cv. Highlight). Turfgrass yields and N contents were obtained weekly during the growing season over a 3-year period. Nitrogen derived from mineralization of industrial fermentation wastes was sufficient to produce high quality turfgrass for a period of 2 or 3 years without any supplemental N fertilizer. Wastes applied at a rate of 224 metric tons/ha inhibited the germination and growth of turfgrass when seeded immediately after application. Only 5–11% of the N applied as fermentation wastes was recovered by the clippings. These data suggest lowering application rates to eliminate potential turfgrass injury from excess N and to prevent possible contamination of ground water.

Key Words: organic wastes • N-fertilization • N-toxicity • mycelial residues • mineralization

¹ Contribution no. 2022 of the Rhode Island Agric. Exp. Stn., Univ. of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881. Financial support from Pfizer Inc., Groton, Conn., is gratefully acknowledged.

² Associate Professor, Research Associate, and former Research Assistant, Respectively, Dep. of Plant and Soil Science, Univ. of Rhode Island, Kingston.

Received for publication July 22, 1981.