Fertilizer made from invasive water weed boosts teff yields
Mulu T, Chala B, Kassa Y, N Bhaskarwar A, Amare A
Soil Health
The same floating weed choking lakes and irrigation canals near your community garden can be turned into a fertilizer that outperforms synthetic options for grain crops.
Water hyacinth is a fast-spreading aquatic weed that clogs waterways worldwide, but researchers found a clever use for it: ferment it into a nutrient-rich slurry and spread it on farm fields. When applied at a moderate rate to teff, an Ethiopian staple grain, this slurry grew bigger, heavier plants than fields left untreated, fields given double or quadruple the dose, or fields treated with regular chemical fertilizer. The sweet spot turned out to be a middle dose, not the biggest one, which is a useful reminder that more fertilizer isn't always better.
Key Findings
Medium application rate (2,500 kg/ha) of water hyacinth bioslurry increased teff yield by 66.6% over untreated control plots
The same medium dose outperformed both higher bioslurry doses (26.4-45.33% higher yield) and standard chemical fertilizer (20.1% higher yield)
Medium-dose treatment significantly increased soil organic matter by 28.42% and boosted fresh biomass, dry biomass, and grain yield (p ≤ 0.05)
chevron_right Technical Summary
Turning the invasive weed water hyacinth into a fertilizer through anaerobic digestion boosted teff crop yields by over 66% compared to untreated soil, and even outperformed both higher doses of the same fertilizer and standard chemical fertilizer.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Water hyacinth bio slurry: characterization and application for enhancing soil fertility and teff crop yield.
Organic fertilizers play a crucial role in increasing the amount of soil nutrients and improving crop productivity. They enrich soil health by improving microbial activity and maximizing nutrient r...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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Teff, Eragrostis tef, also known as Williams lovegrass and annual bunch grass, is an annual species of lovegrass native to Ethiopia, where it originated in the Ethiopian Highlands. It has been cultivated for its edible seeds, also called teff, since at least 1000 BCE and possibly as long ago as 4...