Phosphate Rich Organic Manure

Phosphate rich organic manure is a type of

fertilizer A fertilizer or fertiliser is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from liming materials or other non-nutrient soil amendments. Man ...

used as an alternative to

diammonium phosphate Diammonium phosphate (DAP; IUPAC name diammonium hydrogen phosphate; chemical formula (NH4)2(HPO4)) is one of a series of water- soluble ammonium phosphate salts that can be produced when ammonia reacts with phosphoric acid. Solid diammonium ph ...

and single super phosphate.

Phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...

is required by all plants but is limited in soil, creating a problem in

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

In many areas phosphorus must be added to soil for the extensive plant growth that is desired for crop production. Phosphorus was first added as a fertilizer in the form of single super phosphate in the mid-nineteenth century, following research at

Rothamsted Experimental Station Rothamsted Research, previously known as the Rothamsted Experimental Station and then the Institute of Arable Crops Research, is one of the oldest agricultural research institutions in the world, having been founded in 1843. It is located at Harp ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Single super phosphate is non-nitrogen

fertiliser A fertilizer or fertiliser is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrition, plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from Liming (soil), liming materials or other non- ...

containing

phosphate Phosphates are the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus. In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthop ...

in the form of

monocalcium phosphate Monocalcium phosphate is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula Ca(H2PO4)2 ("AMCP" or "CMP-A" for anhydrous monocalcium phosphate). It is commonly found as the monohydrate ("MCP" or "MCP-M"), Ca(H2PO4)2·H2O. Both salts are colourless so ...

and

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...

which is best suited for

alkali soils Alkali, or alkaline, soils are clay soils with high pH (greater than 8.5), a poor soil structure and a low infiltration capacity. Often they have a hard calcareous layer at 0.5 to 1 metre depth. Alkali soils owe their unfavorable physico ...

to supplement phosphate and reduce soil alkalinity. The world consumes around 140 million tons of high grade rock phosphate mineral today, 90% of which goes into the production of diammonium phosphate. Excess application of chemical fertilizers in fact reduces the agricultural production as chemicals destroy natural soil flora and fauna. When diammonium or single super phosphate is applied to the soil only about 30% of the phosphorus is used by the plants, while the rest is converted to forms which cannot be used by the crops, a phenomenon known as the phosphate problem to

soil scientists Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by restrict ...

. Phosphate rich organic manure is produced by co-composting high-grade (32% P2O5 +/- 2%) rock phosphate in very fine size (say 80% finer than 54 microns). The finer the rock phosphate, the better is the agronomic efficiency of Phosphate rich organic manure. Research indicates that this substance may be a more efficient way of adding phosphorus to soil than applying chemical fertilizers. Other benefits of phosphate rich organic manure are that it supplies phosphorus to the second crop planted in a treated area as efficiently as the first, and that it can be produced using acidic waste solids recovered from the discharge of

biogas plants Anaerobic digestion is a sequence of processes by which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. The process is used for industrial or domestic purposes to Waste management, manage waste or to produce fuels. Mu ...

. Phosphorus in rock phosphate mineral is mostly in the form of

tricalcium phosphate Tricalcium phosphate (sometimes abbreviated TCP), more commonly known as Calcium phosphate, is a calcium salt of phosphoric acid with the chemical formula Ca3(PO4)2. It is also known as tribasic calcium phosphate and bone phosphate of lime (BPL). ...

, which is water-insoluble. Phosphorus dissolution in the soil is most favorable at a pH between 5.5 and 7.Brady, NC, Nature and Properties of Soils, Collier Macmillan, London,1984. Ions of

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

, and

manganese Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...

prevent phosphorus dissolution by keeping local pH below 5.5, and

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 ...

and

calcium Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to it ...

ions prevent the pH from dropping below 7, preventing the release of phosphorus from its stable molecule. Microorganisms produce

organic acid An organic acid is an organic compound with acidic properties. The most common organic acids are the carboxylic acids, whose acidity is associated with their carboxyl group –COOH. Sulfonic acids, containing the group –SO2OH, are re ...

s, which cause the slow dissolution of phosphorus from rock phosphate dust added to the soil, allowing more phosphorus uptake by the plant roots. Organic manure can prevent ions of other elements from locking phosphorus into insoluble forms. The phosphorus in phosphate enhanced organic manure is water-insoluble, so it does not leach into ground water or enter runoff ^{/sup>

Most phosphate rocks can be used for phosphate rich organic manure. It was previously thought that only those rocks which have citric acid

Citric acid is an organic compound with the formula . It is a Transparency and translucency, colorless Weak acid, weak organic acid. It occurs naturally in Citrus, citrus fruits. In biochemistry, it is an intermediate in the citric acid cycle, ...
soluble phosphate and those of sedimentary origin could be used. Rocks of volcanic origin can be used as long as they are ground to very fine size.

Organic manure should be properly prepared for use in agriculture, reducing the C:N ratio to 30:1 or lower. Alkaline

In chemistry, an alkali (; from the Arabic word , ) is a basic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7.0. The ...
and acidic soil

Soil pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity (alkalinity) of a soil. Soil pH is a key characteristic that can be used to make informative analysis both qualitative and quantitatively regarding soil characteristics. pH is defined as the nega ...
s require different ratios of phosphorus.

Phosphate rich organic manure is known as a green chemistry

Green chemistry, similar to sustainable chemistry or circular chemistry, is an area of chemistry and chemical engineering focused on the design of products and processes that minimize or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. Wh ...
phosphatic fertilizer. Addition of natural minerals or synthetic oxides in water-insoluble forms that contain micronutrients such as copper

Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...
, zinc

Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...
, and cobalt

Cobalt is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. ...
may improve the efficiency of phosphate rich organic manure. Using natural sources of nitrogen, such as ''azolla

''Azolla'' (common called mosquito fern, water fern, and fairy moss) is a genus of seven species of aquatic ferns in the family Salviniaceae. They are extremely reduced in form and specialized, having a significantly different appearance to ot ...
'', may be more environmentally sound.

Phosphate rich organic Manure under the Fertilizer Control Order

The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation of the Government of India has approved phosphate rich organic manure and included it under the Fertilizer Control Order. The approved specifications may be seen from Gazette Notification from the website of PROM Society.

References

*

Phosphate rich organic manure as fertiliser

saber.ula.ve

uctm.edu
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728065126/http://www.uctm.edu/journal/j2006-3/05-Ivanova-297-302.pdf , date=2011-07-28
* Principles of phosphate Fertilization and PROM – Progress Review 2012

researchgate.net

Introducing PROM Technology , Government of India, Department of Fertilizers, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers

Organic fertilizers
Soil science}