Evaluation of biomass power-plant-derived wood ash as a potential potassium fertilizer source.

摘要

A greenhouse pot study was performed to compare potassium (K) found in biomass power-plant-derived wood ash to commercially available potassium fertilizer (KCI). Wood ash was collected from the wood-fired Aspen Power Plant located in Lufkin, Angelina County, Texas. Wood ash and potassium chloride (KC1) were applied to 1 kg of a Darco soil collected in Nacogdoches County, Texas. The soil selected was determined through previous studies to be both low in plant available K and responsive to K fertilization. The experimental design was a randomized block with four blocks treated with ten rates of K (0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 200, 300, 400, and 600 mg K kg-1) with two sources, wood ash and KCI. The soil was sampled from each pot after a four week incubation period and after the harvest of the test species, corn (Zea mays L.). Soil samples were analyzed for soil pH, salt pH, electrical conductivity, and Mehlich Ill extractable phosphorus (P), K, calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and sulfur (S). Corn was planted after the incubation period and was harvested at four weeks. Dry matter yield and chemical analysis of the soil and plants showed that wood ash gave K responses similar to KCI at lower rates; however, at higher rates soil and plant analysis showed wood ash K was not as available as the K from KCI.