Organic fertilizers such as cow manure has heavy metals, these fertilizers used with high quantities for improving soil properties and supplying nutrient . so how can increase the efficiency of manure by removing heavy metals from it?.
Dear Haifa Jasim, I hope the article " Reducing Heavy Metals Extraction from Contaminated Soils Using Organic and Inorganic Amendments – a Review " by Shazia Gul , Alia Naz , Iftikhar Fareed and Muhammad Irshad be helpful.
Dear Haifa,
It's very interesting your question, although I don't get it completely, you are looking for an amendment made of a specific animal manure which be better for remediation, or you want to improve a specific kind of manure for remediation of soils polluted ?. attached some papers which can be useful for you. I work with remediation of soils polluted with cadmium, then also, I join to your question !
Regards
What could be the source of heavy metals in cow manure? Is the cow feed/fodder in the urban areas contaminated? Normally we expect the heavy metals in municipal solid waste composts or urban composts.I appreciate colleagues for good literature suggested.
My humble suggestion is that you cannot classify fertilizers with heavy metals as organic as per IFOAM norms
Thanks Dr Anoop for shared literature and Dr Rao for the pertinent question. I should mention here that there is no heavy metals from animal manure unless the fodder was contaminated. Otherwise we would open a research field of animal bioremediation instead of soil bioremediation.
Dr.Khalid , I appreciate your comments. But a study ( nearly a decade old) in Hyderabad,Telangana state showed the movement of heavy metals from contaminated fodder/grass to animal/human milk to blood in periurban area.I do not remember where the results have been published.Such studies involving soil-plant-animal/human system are difficult to conduct and also they involve sampling problems and participation of different specialists
The best way to remove the heavy metals from the organic matter is to substitute it with other anionic sources or chelating agents instead organic matter.
The heavy metal concentration in organic resources should best be given as to ash content ) full oxidised. Neither fresh nor dry matter truly describe the concentration as there are decomposition and potentially accumulation processes occurring in the soil.
One option you might look at vermicomposting:
To extract trace elements (heavy metals) from the manure vermicomposting is a valid technology and used globally. Herein some heavy metals will be absorbed in the worm's tissue and when worms are separated from vermicast the heavy metal concentrations based on stable humus or ashes are reduced.
Please note:
When searching and comparing research papers on this topic, please be aware that trials using closed systems like in the lab where the worms die and remain in the sample the heavy metal concentration might not be reduced.
Dear Colleagues
From my experience in organic fertilizers studies , organic fertilizers especially animal manures have heavy metals because of their functional groups such as carboxylic and phenolic groups which made complexes or chelates with heavy metals and reached soils and plants.
I think that organic fertilizers seldom contain heavy metals ti the extent that are toxic to any kind of agriculture/aquaculture or hydropnics.Therefore, we need to establish it first that what is per cent of heavy metal contamination in any specific organic fertilizer and then if it is there we can further go for fractionation through available refining modes either by going for vermiculture or growing crops which absorb heavy metals to greater extnt such as spinach,sugarbeat etc.
Dear Haifa Organic fertilizers do not contain heavy metals and because of the carbocell and other groups that give high cation exchange capacity through this characteristic, these minerals are restricted and have no significant role in terms of damage to soil or plant. Therefore, the plant that grows on these organic wastes is taken in a balanced manner. Almighty Creator
Dear dr Waqas
Good day
I supervised of Ms.c thesis about mineral and organic content of heavy metals. We found heavy metals in organic fertilizers .many counteries put limits and standard concentration of heavy metals in manure . Heavy metals bonded by functional groups of organic materials and then be taken and absorb by plants.
We can use humic and fulvic acids without heavy metals by many methods.
Or by using phtoremediation technique .
Best wishes
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