Acta Univ. Agric. Silvic. Mendelianae Brun. 2011, 59(3), 117-122 | DOI: 10.11118/actaun201159030117

Comparison of the effectiveness of digestate and mineral fertilisers on yields and quality of kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea, L.)

Tomáš Lošák1, Andrea Zatloukalová1, Monika Szostková1, Jaroslav Hlušek1, Jiří Fryč2, Tomáš Vítěz2
1 Ústav agrochemie, půdoznalství, mikrobiologie a výživy rostlin, Mendelova univerzita v Brně, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Česká republika
2 Ústav zemědělské, potravinářské a environmentální techniky, Mendelova univerzita v Brně, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Česká republika

In a one-year vegetation pot experiment we compared the effect of the digestate from a biogas station and mineral fertilisers on yield and quality parameters of kohlrabi, variety Seguza. Four treatments were used in the trial: 1) untreated control, 2) urea, 3) digestate, 4) urea, triple super phosphate, KCl, MgSO4. The rate of N was the same in treatments 2-4, 1.5 g N/pot. In treatment 4 the rate of P, K and Mg corresponded with the rate of these nutrients in the digestate treatment (3).
The weight of single bulbs of the control unfertilised treatment were significantly the lowest (22.9%), as well as the nitrate (6.0%) and ascorbic acid content (66.2%) compared to the urea treatment (100%) and the other fertilised treatments. After the application of the digestate (treatment 3) and mineral fertilisers (treatment 4) the weight of single bulbs significantly increased by 27.9 and 29.2%, respectively, compared to the urea treatment (2). The content of ascorbic acid in the fertilised treatments did not differ (772-789 mg/kg) but it increased significantly compared to the unfertilised treatment (511 mg/kg). There were no significant differences between the two treatments fertilised with mineral fertilisers in the bulb nitrate content (678 and 641 mg NO3-/kg fresh matter, respectively). After digestate application their contents decreased significantly to 228 mg NO3-/kg fresh matter. Digestate treatment resulted in comparable or better yield and qualitative parameters compared to treatment with mineral fertilisers.

Keywords: digestate, urea, mineral fertilisers, kohlrabi, yields, ascorbic acid, nitrates
Grants and funding:

The study was financed by the Internal Grant Agency of the Faculty of Agronomy MENDELU in Brno No. TP 5/2010 and by the Research plan No. MSM6215648905 "Biological and technological aspects of sustainability of controlled ecosystems and their adaptability to climate change", which is financed by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic.

Received: December 14, 2010; Published: June 14, 2014  Show citation

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Lošák, T., Zatloukalová, A., Szostková, M., Hlušek, J., Fryč, J., & Vítěz, T. (2011). Comparison of the effectiveness of digestate and mineral fertilisers on yields and quality of kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea, L.). Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, 59(3), 117-122. doi: 10.11118/actaun201159030117
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