Sustainable Utilization of Sewage Sludge through the Synthesis of Liquid Fertilizer

In a world with a growing human population, resources are becoming increasingly scarce. To ensure food supply, fertilizers are often used to accelerate growth when planting agricultural products. Sewage sludge (SS), containing as high as 10–15 wt% Phosphorus (P), can be synthesized into liquid fertilizer. P species in SS can generally be classified into four types: inorganic phosphorus (IP), organic phosphorus (OP), nonapatite inorganic phosphorus (NAIP), and apatite phosphorus (AP). However, OP is not leached out by wet chemical methods and NAIP is not bioavailable. This study investigated the P-form conversion (OP and NAIP to AP) in SS by adding 8 wt% CaO at 300 °C. SS through pretreatment can easily leach out P when combined with organic acid. The content of heavy metals is in accordance with fertilizer regulations in a leaching solution. The solution was mixed with potassium and ammonia compounds to synthesize a liquid fertilizer. To ensure the safe and efficient use of liquid fertilizer and undertake an analysis of heavy metals, an aquatic organisms (D. magna) toxicity test, and the growth of plants test were both used. The liquid fertilizer can be demonstrated to accelerate the growth of plants while not causing the death of D. magna in short time, as the liquid fertilizer has enough nutrients to help the D. magna to survive.

SOSIALISASI PEMANFAATAN LIMBAH TANAMAN BUNCIS (PHASEOLUS VULGARIS, L) SEBAGAI PUPUK CAIR DI DESA TONGKOK

This community service activity is motivated by the large amount of waste from bean plants in Tongkok Village, Lahat Regency which has not been used optimally, especially as liquid fertilizer. Waste from the bean plant is disposed of, burned and not used . This causes a high volume of waste and environmental pollution. Therefore, the pkm stkip pgri lubuklinggau team tried to socialize the use of bean plant waste (phaseolus vulgaris, l) as liquid fertilizer in tongkok village. This PKM has been carried out by involving partners, namely the Tongkok village community and is enthusiastically followed. The output target to be achieved by the PKM team is to increase community values ​​and publications. In its implementation, it uses theoretical and practical methods starting from the preparation stage, providing materials and practices for making liquid fertilizer for bean plant waste

Evaluating Postharvest Organic Nitrogen Fertilizer Applications in Early Fruiting Northern Highbush Blueberry

Bloom to fruit maturity is a period of rapid growth and nitrogen (N) uptake in northern highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.). Sufficient plant-available N is critical during this time, and growers often accomplish this through fertilizer applications from bloom through fruit development. For organic production in northern climates like Washington State, postharvest applications of N fertilizer are not recommended for northern highbush blueberry because they may stimulate excessive vegetative growth, reduce floral bud set, and increase the risk of winter injury through delayed acclimation. However, early fruiting cultivars with the potential for an extended growing season after harvest may benefit from postharvest N applications because the additional N may promote shoot and root growth that could support fruit production in future years while still allowing plants to form floral buds and acclimate to winter temperatures. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential impacts of postharvest organic N fertilizer applications on ‘Duke’, an early fruiting northern highbush blueberry cultivar. Specific objectives were to determine the effects of postharvest organic N fertilizer application on plant growth, yield, floral bud set, fruit quality, cold hardiness, tissue macronutrient concentrations, and select soil properties. Four treatments varying in the timing of N application were evaluated in a commercial ‘Duke’ field in eastern Washington using a single fertilizer rate of 130 kg⋅ha−1 N from 2018 to 2020. The organic fertilizer N source was a liquid fertilizer derived from digested plant materials. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with four replications and treatments included the following: control (100% of N applied preharvest); 80/20 (80% preharvest, 20% postharvest); 70/30 (70% preharvest, 30% postharvest); and 60/40 (60% preharvest, 40% postharvest). Although the year influenced measured variables, including yield, floral bud set, fruit quality, tissue nutrients, and soil properties, few treatment effects were observed across the 3-year study. Cold hardiness was only impacted once (8 Feb. 2020), and floral buds were overall hardy to extreme minimum winter temperatures for the region. This project showed that applying postharvest organic N as a liquid fertilizer had no negative consequences on productivity metrics for an early fruiting blueberry cultivar grown in a region with an extended growing season, thus providing growers with more flexibility when timing their fertilizer applications. Results may differ for other fertilizer sources, and further monitoring of soil NO3-N accumulation should be conducted to gain a better understanding of its dynamics and the potential for risks.

Precipitation to remove calcium ions from stabilized human urine as a pre-treatment for reverse osmosis

Concentration of Ca(OH)2 stabilized urine by reverse osmosis (RO) has the potential to cause CaCO3 scaling on the membranes. The aim of this research was to determine whether the addition of carbonate salts could be used to precipitate CaCO3 prior to RO concentration and how to accurately dose the salts. Dosing of NaHCO3 or Na2CO3 reduced the calcium concentration to <0.18 mmol L−1, whilst maintaining a pH > 11. This is the pH threshold for enzymatic urea hydrolysis in urine, but above the operating pH range of most membranes. However, the pH could be decreased by adding an acid. Measuring conductivity as a proxy for the calcium concentration was found to be an effective method to determine the dose of salt required. Simulations with other carbonate producing salts (KHCO3, Mg­CO3, and NH4HCO3) were also shown to be effective. However, NH4HCO3 ($0.53 m−3 urine) was the only other salt comparable in cost to NaHCO3 ($0.49 m−3 urine) and resulted in a final pH within the normal operating range of membranes. The addition of NH4HCO3 would add extra N to the urine rather than sodium ions when dosing NaHCO3. The choice of salt will ultimately depend on what liquid fertilizer composition is desired.

Effect of Inorganic and Organic Liquid Fertilizer Application with Different Application Frequency on Growth of Yielding Tea

Input factor is one of the determinator the quality and response of the tea plant growth. Inorganic fertilizer input still dominates in Indonesian plantations due to the lack of comprehensive evaluation of organic fertilizers, especially in liquid form. This study aims to determine the effect of inorganic and organic liquid fertilizer applications and the frequency of their application on the growth of tea plants. The experiment was carried out based on a Randomized Block Design (RBD) consisting of six treatment combinations, including tap water application once a week, tap water once every two weeks, 1% urea once a week, 1% urea every two weeks, 1% POC once a week and 1% POC once every two weeks. Experiments were carried out on yielding tea plants with the 3rd year of pruning stage. The parameters observed were shoot production (kg/plot), weight of banji and pekoe (g/100g) and the ratio of banji/pekoe. The results showed that the application of urea foliar fertilizer and liquid organic fertilizer with different application frequencies did not have a significant effect on each observed parameter. Application of 1% liquid organic fertilizer once every two weeks has the potential to increase tea productivity by showing a relatively high production of tea (6,88 kg/plot) compared to other treatments.

Pengadukan Pupuk Cair Otomatis Berbasis Mikrokontroler pada Sistem Fertigasi Pintar

ABSTRAKPengadukan pupuk cair secara manual memiliki kekurangan, yaitu rendahnya akurasi campuran hanya sekitar 50% sehinggga dibutuhkannya pengadukan pupuk otomatis untuk meningkatkan akurasi campuran pupuk dan air. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk melakukan perancangan, pembuatan, serta analisis sistem pengadukan pupuk otomatis berbasis mikrokontroler. Bagian dari sistem pengaduk pupuk dibagi menjadi dua bagian utama. Bagian pertama adalah komponen mekanik yang terdiri dari tangki air, tangki pupuk cair, dan motor pengaduk. Sedangkan bagian kedua adalah sistem kendali berupa mikrokontroler arduino untuk mengatur volume air, volume pupuk cair, dan lama pengadukan. Dari hasil pengujian didapatkan bahwa keberhasilan pencampuran pupuk cair EM4 adalah sebesar 99,561%, sedangkan untuk pupuk hijau sebesar 98,551%. Sebagai kesimpulan, sistem fertigasi pintar yang dibangun dapat beroperasi dengan baik dan akurasi diatas 90%.Kata kunci: Sistem Fertigasi, Arduino, Pengadukan, Pupuk cair, Air ABSTRACTManual mixing of liquid fertilizers has drawbacks, namely the low accuracy of the mixture, only about 50%, so that automatic fertilizer mixing is needed to increase the accuracy of the fertilizer and water mixture. The purpose of this study was to design, manufacture, and analyze a microcontroller-based automatic fertilizer mixing system. The part of the fertilizer mixing system is divided into two main parts. The first part is a mechanical component consisting of a water tank, a liquid fertilizer tank, and a stirrer motor. While the second part is a control system in the form of an Arduino microcontroller to regulate the volume of water, the volume of liquid fertilizer, and the stirring time. From the test results, it was found that the success of mixing EM4 liquid fertilizer was 99.561%, while for green manure it was 98.551%. In conclusion, the smart fertigation system built can operate well and the accuracy is above 90%.Keywords: Fertigation System, Arduino, Stirring, Liquid Fertilizer, Water

The Study of Liquid Fertilizer from Ground Coffee

<span lang="EN-US">Nowadays, coffee is one of needs among metropolitan people. This lifestyle impact to increasing waste along coffee production, one of them is coffee ground. Coffee ground </span><span lang="EN-GB">has toxic properties to the environment such as caffeine, tannins, and polyphenols. While other chemicals contain on coffee ground are 2.28% nitrogen, 0.06% phosphorus, 0.6% potassium, which means has a good impact to the soil. In existing condition, coffee gr<span lang="EN-US">Nowadays, coffee is one of needs among metropolitan people. This lifestyle impact to increasing waste along coffee production, one of them is coffee ground. Coffee ground </span><span lang="EN-GB">has toxic properties to the environment such as caffeine, tannins, and polyphenols. While other chemicals contain on coffee ground are 2.28% nitrogen, 0.06% phosphorus, 0.6% potassium, which means has a good impact to the soil. In existing condition, coffee ground is commonly used to, biodiesel and bioethanol or by direct used to the soil. The processing of coffee ground to be liquid organic fertilizer by using bio-activator are considered to substitute the direct used, it will improve the quality of soil. </span><strong><span lang="IN">Objectives:</span><span lang="IN"> </span></strong><span lang="EN-US">The objective of this research is to study of liquid fertilizer from coffee ground, whether comply or not to the standard regulation </span><span lang="EN-GB">Ministerial Decree of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia Number 261/2019</span><span lang="EN-US">.</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span><strong><span lang="IN">Method and results:</span></strong><span lang="IN"> </span><span lang="EN-US">This research use a coffee ground from <em>arabica</em> and <em>robusta</em> coffee and applied 2(two) different dilution by repeated 2x2 on one time </span><span lang="EN-US">by using EM4 as bio-activator. The pH and temperature for 4 experiment measured daily and has an average on 4.8 and 31-degree celcius for 10 days. Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and phosphor measured in the end of experiment has average results on 0.18, 0.17, 0.04, sequentially. </span><strong><span lang="IN">Conclusion:</span></strong><span lang="IN"> </span><span lang="EN-US">The result for chemical parameter; Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and phosphor has not comply to the standard of liquid organic fertilizer by Indonesia Government.</span>ound is commonly used to, biodiesel and bioethanol or by direct used to the soil. The processing of coffee ground to be liquid organic fertilizer by using bio-activator are considered to substitute the direct used, it will improve the quality of soil. </span><strong><span lang="IN">Objectives:</span><span lang="IN"> </span></strong><span lang="EN-US">The objective of this research is to study of liquid fertilizer from coffee ground, whether comply or not to the standard regulation </span><span lang="EN-GB">Ministerial Decree of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia Number 261/2019</span><span lang="EN-US">.</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span><strong><span lang="IN">Method and results:</span></strong><span lang="IN"> </span><span lang="EN-US">This research use a coffee ground from <em>arabica</em> and <em>robusta</em> coffee and applied 2(two) different dilution by repeated 2x2 on one time </span><span lang="EN-US">by using EM4 as bio-activator. The pH and temperature for 4 experiment measured daily and has an average on 4.8 and 31-degree celcius for 10 days. Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and phosphor measured in the end of experiment has average results on 0.18, 0.17, 0.04, sequentially. </span><strong><span lang="IN">Conclusion:</span></strong><span lang="IN"> </span><span lang="EN-US">The result for chemical parameter; Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and phosphor has not comply to the standard of liquid organic fertilizer by Indonesia Government.</span>