Aims

The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of natural (NatZeo) and acid-treated (AcidZeo) zeolites in increasing the nitrogen (N) recovery of sugarcane grown under conditions highly conducive for N losses.

Methods

This glasshouse trial replicated the pedoclimatic conditions typical of the Australian sugarcane industry in the Wet Tropics to evaluate the capacity and economic feasibility of using NatZeo and AcidZeo to reduce leaching and increase plant and soil N recovery in a highly permeable sandy-loam soil. Nitrogen fertiliser was applied at two rates (84 and 120 kg N ha⁻¹) as ¹⁵N-enriched urea.

Results

Compared with the unamended treatments, AcidZeo led to significantly higher average fertiliser N recoveries in both the soil (+24%) and plant (+54%), which resulted in significantly lower overall N losses (−22%). However, the significantly higher capacity of AcidZeo in retaining ions limited the availability of potassium and sulphur to the plants and led to a 4% yield reduction. The use of NatZeo led to lower abatements of N losses (−6%) but increased N recoveries in the plant (+22%). NatZeo did not result in as much cation immobilisation, which, combined with the increased plant/soil N recovery, resulted in the highest yield of the trial (+8% compared with the unamended treatments). The economic analysis indicated that only NatZeo could potentially increase farmer’s income when applied in 20 cm wide strips around the fertiliser band.

Conclusions

This study highlights that zeolites have potential to improve the environmental sustainability and profitability of sugarcane cropping systems.

中文翻译：

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沸石可以用于甘蔗种植系统，以帮助减少澳大利亚大堡礁的氮损失吗？

目标

本研究的目的是确定天然 (NatZeo) 和酸处理 (AcidZeo) 沸石在提高甘蔗氮 (N) 回收率方面的有效性，甘蔗在极有利于氮损失的条件下生长。

方法

该温室试验复制了澳大利亚湿热带地区甘蔗工业的典型土壤气候条件，以评估使用 NatZeo 和 AcidZeo 在高渗透性沙壤土中减少淋滤并增加植物和土壤氮回收的能力和经济可行性。以两种比率（84和120 kg N ha ^-1 ）施用氮肥作为¹⁵ N富集尿素。

结果

与未经修改的处理相比，AcidZeo 使土壤 (+24%) 和植物 (+54%) 的平均肥料氮回收率显着提高，从而显着降低了总体氮损失 (−22%)。然而，AcidZeo 明显较高的保留离子的能力限制了植物对钾和硫的利用率，并导致产量下降 4%。 NatZeo 的使用降低了氮损失的减少量 (-6%)，但提高了工厂的氮回收率 (+22%)。 NatZeo 没有导致那么多的阳离子固定，这与植物/土壤氮回收率的增加相结合，导致了试验的最高产量（与未修改的处理相比+8%）。经济分析表明，只有 NatZeo 在肥料带周围以 20 厘米宽的条状施用时才有可能增加农民的收入。

结论

这项研究强调，沸石有潜力提高甘蔗种植系统的环境可持续性和盈利能力。