Kentucky State University
Application of Sewage Sludge in Land Farming: Advantages and Disadvantages
Institution
Kentucky State University
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
George F. Antonious
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 15 million tons of biosolids and 31 million tons of yard waste are discarded annually in the United States. Recycling this material as soil amendments for reclamation sites, forestlands, and agricultural land would 1) reduce the need for landfill disposal and/or incineration and 2) reduce the impact of these disposal methods on environmental quality. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of class-A biosolid and yard waste compost on potato and bell pepper yields under field conditions. Field studies were conducted on a Lowell silty loam soil located at the Kentucky State University Research Farm, Franklin County, Kentucky. Six replicates of each soil amendment were mixed with native soil at a rate of 50 tons/acre on a dry weight basis in standard USLE research plots (22 x 3.7 m, 10% slope). Total potato and pepper yields from yard waste compost amended soils (3330.9 lbs/acre and 9187 lbs/acre, respectively) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than yields from either the soil amended with class-A biosolid (2835 lbs/acre and 6984 lbs/acre, respectively) or the unamended soils (2429.6 lbs/acre and 7161.7 lbs/acre, respectively).
Application of Sewage Sludge in Land Farming: Advantages and Disadvantages
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 15 million tons of biosolids and 31 million tons of yard waste are discarded annually in the United States. Recycling this material as soil amendments for reclamation sites, forestlands, and agricultural land would 1) reduce the need for landfill disposal and/or incineration and 2) reduce the impact of these disposal methods on environmental quality. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of class-A biosolid and yard waste compost on potato and bell pepper yields under field conditions. Field studies were conducted on a Lowell silty loam soil located at the Kentucky State University Research Farm, Franklin County, Kentucky. Six replicates of each soil amendment were mixed with native soil at a rate of 50 tons/acre on a dry weight basis in standard USLE research plots (22 x 3.7 m, 10% slope). Total potato and pepper yields from yard waste compost amended soils (3330.9 lbs/acre and 9187 lbs/acre, respectively) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than yields from either the soil amended with class-A biosolid (2835 lbs/acre and 6984 lbs/acre, respectively) or the unamended soils (2429.6 lbs/acre and 7161.7 lbs/acre, respectively).