TY  - JOUR
AU  - Borges, Roger
AU  - Giroto, Amanda S.
AU  - Ohrem, Benedict
AU  - Beckmann, Silas
AU  - Ademi, Ali
AU  - Boeckem, Vera
AU  - Bochmann, Helena
AU  - Müller-Linow, Mark
AU  - Lenz, Henning
AU  - Ribeiro, Caue
AU  - Wojciechowski, Tobias
AU  - Jablonowski, Nicolai D.
AU  - Postma, Johannes A.
TI  - Optimizing Cassava Growth with Localized Struvite Application: Root Proliferation and Fertilization Efficiency
JO  - Agronomy
VL  - 15
IS  - 2
SN  - 2073-4395
CY  - Basel
PB  - MDPI
M1  - FZJ-2025-01696
SP  - 353 -
PY  - 2025
AB  - Cassava is a root storage crop that is important to the starch industry and food security. In this study, the sustainable fertilization of cassava using local placement of struvite, a fertilizer recovered from wastewater, rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium, was investigated. It was asked if struvite is a suitable fertilizer for cassava, if it is likely to spread through the substrate (leach), and if roots can proliferate and utilize a concentrated placement of struvite. Cassava was grown in rhizoboxes under different fertilizer placement strategies: unfertilized control, homogeneous fertilizer distribution in the top 20 cm (‘homogenized’), a strip placement (‘layer’) at 20 cm depth, and a localized ‘depot’ at the same depth. Shoot and root growth responses were monitored over 8 weeks. Cassava growth was significantly improved with struvite fertilization. The fertilizer remained localized, with minimcnal spread during the 8 weeks of experimentation. Both the ‘layer’ and ‘homogenized’ struvite placements resulted in comparable biomass production, significantly greater than the unfertilized treatment. Plants in the ‘depot’ placement initially grew similar to the unfertilized treatment as roots took time to locate and proliferate into the fertilizer depot. Afterward, plants in the ‘depot’ treatment grew quickly, resulting in an intermediate biomass at harvest. Notably, cassava exhibited strong root proliferation in response to concentrated struvite, which did not compromise deep rooting but instead appeared to enhance it, increasing specific root length. These findings suggest that strip fertilization with struvite may offer a sustainable fertilization strategy for cassava, warranting further investigation in field trials.
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
UR  - <Go to ISI:>//WOS:001429883700001
DO  - DOI:10.3390/agronomy15020353
UR  - https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/1038881
ER  -