Conception of phosphorus fertilizers coated by biopolymers : efficiency and impact on the chemical and biological soil quality
Résumé
World population is growing and fertilizers are one of the most important elements for agriculture to insure global food security. Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) are three major elements required for the growth of plants.
However, the latter consumes only a little part (30–60% N, 10–20% P, 30–50% K) and the rest is lost in the environment (volatilization, leaching or fixation) causing environmental and economic damages.
That’s why researchers have paid great attention to develop eco-friendly fertilizers “Controlled release fertilizers”.
The aim of our project is to improve the eco-efficiency of OCP fertilizers (NPK) using wastes and biomasses.
In the present work, we design a new generation of OCP fertilizers with controlled release, water adsorption and microorganisms’ encapsulation, using biopolymers resulting from Moroccan wastes available in large quantities and at low costs.
We investigate the effect of coating technologies on biopolymers properties and determine the key parameters which influence nutritive elements release in soil, the seed germination yield and the plants growth.