Fertigation of Maize with Digestate Using Drip Irrigation and Pivot Systems
Digestate is a nutrient-rich fertilizer and appropriate techniques are required for its application during the maize season to reduce losses and increase the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). The performance of two different fertigation techniques (drip irrigation and pivot) were assessed using the dig...
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doaj-dc4ac4a4c0e948f2817e7a055472b3552021-04-02T14:15:03ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952020-09-01101453145310.3390/agronomy10101453Fertigation of Maize with Digestate Using Drip Irrigation and Pivot SystemsViviana Guido0Alberto Finzi1Omar Ferrari2Elisabetta Riva3Dolores Quílez4Eva Herrero5Giorgio Provolo6Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Milan, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milano, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Milan, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milano, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Milan, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milano, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Milan, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milano, ItalyDepartment of Soil and Irrigation, Agrifood Research and Technology Centre of Aragon (CITA), Avda. Montañana 930, 50059 Zaragoza, SpainDepartment of Soil and Irrigation, Agrifood Research and Technology Centre of Aragon (CITA), Avda. Montañana 930, 50059 Zaragoza, SpainDepartment of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Milan, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milano, ItalyDigestate is a nutrient-rich fertilizer and appropriate techniques are required for its application during the maize season to reduce losses and increase the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). The performance of two different fertigation techniques (drip irrigation and pivot) were assessed using the digestate liquid fraction. A two-year field test was carried out at two different sites in Lombardy, northern Italy. At each site, fertigation with pivot (P-F, site 1) or drip (D-F, site 2) systems was compared to reference fields where the same irrigation techniques without addition of digestate were used. During the two seasons, the performance of the fertigation systems, amount of fertilizers used, soil nitrogen content, yields, and nitrogen content of the harvested plants were monitored. The digestate application averaged 5 m<sup>3</sup>/ha per fertigation event with P-F and 4.9 m<sup>3</sup>/ha with D-F corresponding, respectively, to 28 and 23 kg N/ha. Both irrigation systems were suitable for fertigation provided that the digestate was adequately filtrated. Our results suggest that fertigation with digestate, if properly managed, can be applied during the growing season up to the full amount of nitrogen required by the crop.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/10/10/1453slurry managementdigestate liquid fractionsustainabilitynitrogen-use-efficiencynitrogen balanceemission reduction |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Viviana Guido Alberto Finzi Omar Ferrari Elisabetta Riva Dolores Quílez Eva Herrero Giorgio Provolo |
spellingShingle |
Viviana Guido Alberto Finzi Omar Ferrari Elisabetta Riva Dolores Quílez Eva Herrero Giorgio Provolo Fertigation of Maize with Digestate Using Drip Irrigation and Pivot Systems Agronomy slurry management digestate liquid fraction sustainability nitrogen-use-efficiency nitrogen balance emission reduction |
author_facet |
Viviana Guido Alberto Finzi Omar Ferrari Elisabetta Riva Dolores Quílez Eva Herrero Giorgio Provolo |
author_sort |
Viviana Guido |
title |
Fertigation of Maize with Digestate Using Drip Irrigation and Pivot Systems |
title_short |
Fertigation of Maize with Digestate Using Drip Irrigation and Pivot Systems |
title_full |
Fertigation of Maize with Digestate Using Drip Irrigation and Pivot Systems |
title_fullStr |
Fertigation of Maize with Digestate Using Drip Irrigation and Pivot Systems |
title_full_unstemmed |
Fertigation of Maize with Digestate Using Drip Irrigation and Pivot Systems |
title_sort |
fertigation of maize with digestate using drip irrigation and pivot systems |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Agronomy |
issn |
2073-4395 |
publishDate |
2020-09-01 |
description |
Digestate is a nutrient-rich fertilizer and appropriate techniques are required for its application during the maize season to reduce losses and increase the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). The performance of two different fertigation techniques (drip irrigation and pivot) were assessed using the digestate liquid fraction. A two-year field test was carried out at two different sites in Lombardy, northern Italy. At each site, fertigation with pivot (P-F, site 1) or drip (D-F, site 2) systems was compared to reference fields where the same irrigation techniques without addition of digestate were used. During the two seasons, the performance of the fertigation systems, amount of fertilizers used, soil nitrogen content, yields, and nitrogen content of the harvested plants were monitored. The digestate application averaged 5 m<sup>3</sup>/ha per fertigation event with P-F and 4.9 m<sup>3</sup>/ha with D-F corresponding, respectively, to 28 and 23 kg N/ha. Both irrigation systems were suitable for fertigation provided that the digestate was adequately filtrated. Our results suggest that fertigation with digestate, if properly managed, can be applied during the growing season up to the full amount of nitrogen required by the crop. |
topic |
slurry management digestate liquid fraction sustainability nitrogen-use-efficiency nitrogen balance emission reduction |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/10/10/1453 |
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