Tag: crops

Fertilizer made from local rocks could help feed hungry in Africa

Fertilizer made from local rocks could help feed hungry in Africa

Researchers in Morocco develop method for turning syenite rock into cheaper, more-efficient alternative to regular potassium fertilizer

Food insecurity is a major problem in many parts of the world, particularly Africa where more than 300 million people regularly go hungry. Now, using the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan, researchers from Morocco have developed a way to produce fertilizer from local African rocks, which could make it easier for farmers to grow the crops needed to feed local residents.

African soils, especially in central Africa, are rich in organic matter and have lots of water, but farmers still need fertilizers to provide important macronutrients like potassium, which strengthens plants’ ability to absorb water, improves disease resistance, and increases crop yields. Most potassium fertilizers come from potash, mined from underground deposits formed by ancient, evaporated seabeds.

However, potash is an imperfect source of potassium for African farmers for several reasons. First, it comes from far away – the biggest potash deposits are in the northern hemisphere, in Canada, Russia, and Germany, making it an expensive resource that is vulnerable to supply chain disruptions.

Second, the potassium salts in potash are highly soluble, so while the plants can take up some of the nutrient, large amounts leach away into the groundwater and surface water and are lost. Finally, the chlorine in the fertilizer contributes to soil salinity and pollutes groundwater.

Abdellatif Elghali, professor at University Mohammed VI Polytechnic in Benguerir, Morocco, and his colleagues have been looking for ways to turn local potassium-rich syenite rocks into a cheaper and more efficient alternative fertilizer.

Read more on the CLS website

Addressing hidden hunger in developing countries

Addressing hidden hunger in developing countries

Millet, the grain, is having a moment. The United Nations declared 2023 International Year of Millets. And last September, leaders at the G20 Summit in India were treated to a smorgasbord of dishes and desserts all made from millets.

It’s easy to see why millet is getting so much love lately. It packs a bigger nutritional punch than grains like rice, wheat, and corn, it’s easier to grow — requiring less fertilizer and water — and it’s more tolerant of the drought conditions that are becoming increasingly common around the globe.

Now researchers from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada – along with partners in India – have developed a deeper understanding of what makes millet such a wonder food. Using the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan – and the Advanced Photon Source near Chicago, Illinois – Dr. Raju Soolanayakanahally and colleagues looked at what millet’s genes are doing at different stages – from when it first sprouts to when it makes seeds. For instance, they identified the genes responsible for capturing and transporting nutrients within millet seeds.

By comparing this new data with genetic information from other grains, the researchers now have a better understanding of why millet is so efficient at taking up micronutrients from the soil. This new knowledge could be applied in the development of better forms of other crops such as barley and wheat. The team, which included scientists from the University of Agricultural Sciences (Bangalore, India) and the All India Coordinated Research Project on Small Millets, was also able to see where, precisely, minerals are located within millet seeds, information critical for ensuring that processing of the grain does not strip away valuable nutrients. Their findings were published recently in The Plant Journal.

“As a physiologist, I was very interested in how these neglected crops take up iron, zinc, manganese from the soil and sequester everything into the grain to make them one of the most nutrient-dense cereal crops,” says Soolanayakanahally, who grew up in Karnataka, India — where millets were the most stable local source of food. “Understanding that pathway, understanding what genes were involved, what molecular mechanisms are involved, was fascinating.”

Read more on CLS website

Transforming chicken manure into nutrient-rich fertilizer for crops

Transforming chicken manure into nutrient-rich fertilizer for crops

An international collaboration between researchers from Brazil and the United States has identified a process for turning poultry waste into a soil additive for agriculture.

“Several countries have large poultry production, especially United States and Brazil, where agriculture is also concentrated,” says Aline Leite, a Post Doctoral researcher from the Federal University of Lavras in Brazil. “So, reusing a global residue generated in large amounts is an interesting way of promoting a circular economy.”

The researchers harvested poultry manure from an experimental site in the United States, which they heated to turn into biochar, a carbon-rich substance that is used as a soil additive to replenish critical nutrients like phosphorus.

“We are focused on understanding mechanisms that are responsible for increasing phosphorus availability in materials like manure,” says Leite.

Poultry manure is full of calcium and requires higher temperature treatments to turn the waste into biochar, however, these higher temperatures can have an effect on the amount of phosphorus available.

In order to ensure that the biochar contained sufficient available phosphorus, the researchers enriched it with another mineral, magnesium, which protected the phosphorus from the heat and enabled it to form more soluble forms of phosphorus.

Using the IDEAS and VLS-PGM beamlines at the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask), the researchers were able to visualize the connection between phosphorus and magnesium and confirm the success of their technique.

Their findings were recently published in the scientific journal, Chemosphere.

While phosphorus reserves are found across the globe, the nutrient is a finite resource. Finding ways to recycle the mineral is an important issue for scientists.

“There’s no excuse for not using the phosphorus that is already in the food chain, for example, by reusing the waste that is already generated,” says Leite.

Leite says that synchrotron technology is essential for research into agricultural applications.

Read more on the Canadian Light Source website

Recycling phosphorus from wastewater to grow better crops

Recycling phosphorus from wastewater to grow better crops

Scientists are helping close the loop on the sustainability cycle with research into nutrient-enhanced biochar — a charcoal-like material made by heating recycled biomass in the absence of oxygen (a process called pyrolysis). Biomass is any living or once-living material – including plants, trees, and animal waste — that can be used as a source of energy.

Daniel Strawn, Professor of Environmental Soil Chemistry at the University of Idaho, and his colleagues are interested in enhancing biochar – which can be used as an amendment to promote soil health — by adding phosphorus, a crucial nutrient for crops.

The research team, which also included scientists from the University of Saskatchewan and Washington State University, has focused its efforts on recovering phosphorus from wastewater.

“Phosphorus is a limited resource, taken out of the ground, processed to produce fertilizer, and eventually it ends up in wastewater,” says Strawn. “We are developing technology to recover it using biochar in a water treatment process.”

Biochar is an effective sponge ­that can soak up phosphorous and other nutrients, like nitrogen, from waterways. The team is testing this treatment process on municipal and agricultural wastewater systems.

With the help of the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at USask, Strawn and his colleagues confirmed in a recent paper which type of phosphorous had been absorbed by the biochar — a crucial step to understanding and refining their process.

Read more on the CLS website